Teacher sexual misconduct is nothing new in Oklahoma

"One of Oklahoma's most wanted fugitives turned himself in last week after nearly 30 years on the run," the News on 6 reports. 

Gary Boergermann was working street crimes for the Tulsa Police Department back in 1987 when he and his partner first arrested Ronald Lyons at his Tulsa home near 11th and Harvard. "We got an anonymous tip that there was a Broken Arrow school teacher possibly selling drugs to students,” said Boergermann. “And we ran him and he happened to have a traffic warrant for his arrest." 

Boergerman and his partner knocked on the door to question Lyons. They say they saw drugs on the coffee table and got permission to search the rest of the house. During their search, they say they found more drugs and nude photos of some of his students.

"Back then they were old Polaroid pictures and they had all the dates on the film," said Boergermann.

Boergerman said it took a lot of time to identify the girls from Broken Arrow School yearbooks and gather information on the case. ... Tulsa Police Department spent many hours trying to get some of the students to talk but many of them didn't want to, including Melody Teague, who investigators believe hung herself in fear that she would be called to testify against Lyons.

"She said ‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ ‘I said why?’ She said ‘he'll know.’ I said “What do you mean he will know?’ ‘She said he knows everything.’"

Boergermann said they were never able to connect Teague’s death to Lyons. "We were never to put that case with him or any of the charges you know because he didn't force her to do it,” said Boergermann. “I just think she just felt so bad and guilty that she did." ... 

"Whether he's had a real terrible 30 years or a real great 30 years, that’s no concern he still needs to do his 9 years,” said Boergermann. “He hurt too many kids back in the day."