tulsaworld.com: News
BA man, employed by state, charged in child cybersex case
A Broken Arrow man who worked for a state agency helping deaf people find jobs is accused of trying to meet and have sex with a person he thought was a 13-year-old girl, whom he had met on the Internet, reports show.
Kirby J. Hodges, 48, was arrested Feb. 22 at a Norman convenience store.
He was charged one day later with attempted abduction of a minor for lewd purposes, making an indecent proposal to a minor and using his computer to further the alleged crime, court records show.
Hodges has been suspended from his job at the Tulsa offices of the state Department of Rehabilitation Services, spokeswoman Jody Harlan said Thursday. He has worked for the department for 21 years, she said.
"He is suspended with pay pending the outcome of that investigation," she said. "If there's evidence of wrongdoing, then we'll take immediate action."
Hodges has been a vocational rehabilitative specialist for the department. Deaf himself, he focused on working with deaf clients, Harlan said.
"Eighteen percent of our staff have disabilities," she said. "It's a way of practicing what we preach."
Hodges is free on $5,000 bond. He is scheduled to return to Cleveland County District Court on March 6, records show.