A school security guard was arrested and charged with exchanging sexual messages with underage students on social media, Oklahoma authorities said.
Carlos Hopkins, a security guard for Union Public Schools in Tulsa, had “inappropriate contacts and relationships with several students” between 13 and 15 years old, the Tulsa Police Department said in a Thursday, Feb. 16, news release.
Union Public Schools told McClatchy News that Hopkins was a security guard at Union 8th Grade Center” but “is no longer an employee” of the school system. “We are cooperating fully with the Tulsa Police Department and have turned over all information to them on this matter. At Union, we take the safety of our students very seriously,” the Monday, Feb. 20, statement said.
Hopkins, 41, messaged students over Instagram and Snapchat, police said. The conversations started “casual” then Hopkins “quickly began asking questions of a sexual nature,” students told police.
Students told officers that Hopkins “asked questions about their genitalia,” asked them to send nude photos and offered to pay them for the photos, according to the release. He also sent students nude photos and videos of him “engaged in sexual activity,” officials said.
Hopkins was arrested on Feb. 16. Police charged him with seven counts of using technology to engage in sexual communication with a minor, the release said.
Police said additional charges may be added as more students have come forward.
Hopkins was booked into Tulsa County Jail and posted bond, court records show. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday, Feb. 23.
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