Former Tulsa County Juvenile Detention Center Employee Arrested, Accused Of Having Sex With Teenaged Resident

A former employee at the Tulsa County Juvenile Detention Center is in jail, accused of giving money to a 17-year-old resident in exchange for sex.

Investigators say the teenager told them he had sex with 25-year-old Jonathan Hines in the boy's cell.

Investigators say Jonathan Hines worked at the Tulsa County Juvenile Detention Center for less than a year, after moving to Green Country from Florida.

They said Hines violated rules by bringing residents candy, treats, edibles and also gave the victim his cell phone number.

Hines says the allegations surfaced after he started better enforcing the rules.

The Family Center for Juvenile Justice says in statement: 

“Recently, a series of incidents have come to light that have occurred in the detention facility of the Tulsa County Family Center for Juvenile Justice. Any crime against a child is an abomination, more so when it is committed by those entrusted with the responsibility to care for some of our most vulnerable youth. FCJJ is unwavering in its commitment to providing a secure environment for the juveniles in our care. FCJJ is licensed by the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA.) For the last year, OJA has been in our facility weekly, engaged with our detainees, employees, and staff. They have unlimited access to the FCJJ, including access to our staff, detainees, and security cameras. FCJJ’s policies encourage staff and detainees to immediately report any potential misconduct, regardless of who the alleged perpetrator might be. As required by our licensing, FCJJ has reported each incident that has come to our attention to both OJA and law enforcement. In each incident, the offending employee was immediately terminated. The most recent incident was promptly referred to the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, and their investigation resulted in an arrest and felony charges for a former employee. FCJJ will continue to work closely with OJA, law enforcement, and the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office to both protect the young people entrusted to our care as well as holding accountable those who violate that trust. 

Tulsa County sent out a statement that says: 

"In Oklahoma, the Juvenile Bureaus are operated by the Juvenile Division of the District Court. Tulsa County does not manage or have direct oversight of the operations at the Family Center for Juvenile Justice. Tulsa County has been made aware of the situation at the Family Center for Juvenile Justice. The allegations against the juvenile detention officer are very serious. Safe and secure housing for the juvenile offenders is of the utmost importance. As the matter is under investigation, we cannot comment further at this time."

A Group called Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice issued a statement on Facebook saying:

"In the last few weeks, Oklahoma Appleseed has been made aware of heinous allegations of child rape and trafficking occurring inside the Tulsa County Family Center for Juvenile Justice (the “FCJJ”).The allegations include detention officers bribing children in custody with snacks and money, detention officers raping children in custody, and detention officers destroying evidence of criminal activity. Our organization has partnered with the FCJJ on helping to coordinate functional family therapy for at-risk children for the last year and four months. We believe there are many good employees doing their best who work at the facility, however, we also believe there is cultural rot at the heart of the organization that has led to a culture of neglect, exploitation, trafficking, and sex crimes against children. These allegations are not the result of one “bad apple” but rather a culture of negligence and incompetence that has festered for too long in the FCJJ. It is incumbent upon Tulsa County leaders to take affirmative action to protect the children being housed in the facility. We call on these leaders and Attorney General Gentner Drummond to conduct a full investigation of the allegations. A special prosecutor must be appointed to this case and any future criminal charges to ensure there is no conflict of interest with the County employees. The Tulsa County District Attorney's Office should recuse and allow an uncompromised law enforcement agency to conduct a full and thorough investigation. Children–even those who have been accused of criminal activity–should be afforded every protection available. Our system has abysmally failed its most vulnerable children. We encourage any employee at the FCJJ with any information about the alleged crimes and ongoing negligence to fully cooperate with authorities in any investigation moving forward. It is essential that we root out the deeply embedded apathy at the facility and restore this institution to one of care and concern for the children in its custody.

Hines was charged with human trafficking, bringing a cell phone into a jail, and destroying evidence.

He's accused of deleting text messages when investigators were asking his permission to search his phone.