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By Dustin Phillips on
July 30, 2015
January 26, 2022

It is not uncommon to hear the terms "sex offender" and "Valley Brook" linked. After all, the nearby Hands Up Ministries, a community for convicted sex offenders, has frequently been in the news as neighbors tried to shut the ministry down. Valley Brook residents also protested and tried to shut down Joe's Addiction, a coffee shop that also ministered to registered sex offenders.

Sex Crimes with a Minor

Now, Valley Brook and sex offenders are linked in the news again. This time, a former Valley Brook police officer was arrested on 33 criminal complaints--virtually all involving a sexual relationship with an underage teen girl.

Courtney Breanne Schlinke, 21, was arrested and booked into the Oklahoma County Jail on Tuesday, just a week after she resigned from the Valley Brook police force because of "an unrelated personnel matter." She had only been with the department approximately four months before her resignation, and she was still attending the police academy.

The sex crimes investigation began July 1, after a woman called Oklahoma City police to report that she believed an inappropriate sexual relationship was taking place between Schlinke and a girl under the age of 16.

Investigators spoke to the teenager, who said that she and the woman had been involved in sexual activity for approximately eight months, and she said there were roughly 70 incidents during that time.

The suspect is being held on more than $1 million bond for complaints including 16 counts of rape by instrumentation, 8 counts of oral sodomy, and 8 counts of lewd acts with a child under 16.

Three days after her resignation from the force, Schlinke was accused of being one of four people who kicked in another man's door. She is held on a complaint in first degree burglary related to that incident.

As of this writing, the District Attorney has not yet filed charges against the young woman. However, if she is charged and ultimately convicted, the penalties she faces are severe.

Rape Charges

Rape by instrumentation is charged in the first degree when it is committed by force, against a child under 14, or results in bodily injury. In the case of a consensual act with a minor aged 14 or 15, it is charged in the second degree. The penalty for second degree rape is 1 to 15 years in prison for each count.

Forcible sodomy, which by definition does not actually require force, is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison for each count.

The penalty for lewd or indecent proposals or acts to a child under 16 is punishable according to the age of the child involved. If the act involves a child aged 12 to 15, lewd acts with a minor carries a possible prison sentence of 3 to 20 years in prison. When the child involved is under the age of 12, though, conviction is punishable by 25 years to life in prison.

All of the above described sex crimes are Level 3 sex offenses. Conviction mandates lifetime sex offender registration.

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