OCSO Clears Up Comments Made In Search Warrant For Deer Creek Schools' Administration Building

The Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office is clearing up some comments that were made in a search warrant for the Deer Creek Schools' administration building following reports of an alleged relationship between a teacher and student.

Friday, January 6th 2023, 6:02 pm

By: Haley Weger

DEER CREEK, Okla. -

The Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office has been investigating an alleged inappropriate relationship between a Deer Creek teacher and student.

The OCSO obtained a search warrant last month to search the school's administration building as part of their investigation.

Court documents stated that “multiple times in the past Deer Creek schools have stated they could not release evidence to us and have threatened to cancel the contract between OCSO and Deer Creek for school resource officers if we obtained a search warrant.”

On Friday, Sheriff Tommie Johnson took the time to clear the record and said that is not true. Johnson was not in office at the time of the alleged incident and said he has been looking into the claims after those court documents were released.

“After the investigation we determined that these comments cannot be substantiated," Johnson said.

“Since I've been in office, our relationship with Deer Creek has been amazing, tremendous and that I had never heard comments like this," Johnson said.

“The investigator that used these comments in the probable cause affidavit believed them to be true at the time," Johnson said.

He said that the investigator was given the information by somebody in the previous administration, but he did not specify who.

News 9 also spoke with Superintendent of Deer Creek Public Schools Jason Perez who said he is thankful that Johnson took the time to clear the record.

"I'm very thankful for Sheriff Johnson's integrity," Perez said. “We've had a great relationship with the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office, and we continue to do so."

As they continue their investigation into the inappropriate relationship between the teacher and student, both Perez and Johnson said they're continuing to put student safety as their top priority.

“I'm just glad to clear up any misunderstandings there so we can really move forward in a positive way for our community, for our students," Perez said.

“Everything in that school system and the sheriff's office is devoted to the safety of those kiddos," Johnson said.

Sarah Hull-Degroat is accused of having inappropriate communication with a 15-year-old student through a shared Google Doc and sharing a semi-nude photo of herself with the student.

Deer Creek Public Schools told News 9 they were notified of the inappropriate contact between Hull-Degroat and the student on Dec. 2 and contacted the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Department.

OCSO executed a search warrant at Deer Creek High School looking for evidence in the investigation in early December.

The search warrant stated that “the most complete body of evidence is held within the laptop computers” that were being held at the Deer Creek administration building.

The sheriff said they are still investigating to determine if the relationship was physical, if there were any other students involved and exactly how long the relationship had gone on for.

Hull-Degroat was arrested for facilitating sexual conduct with a minor. The investigation is still ongoing.