Rogers set for jury trial sounding docket

A Sallisaw man charged in July with child sexual abuse and pornography following a hit-and-run accident the week prior has now been set for a Dec. 8 jury trial sounding docket in Sequoyah County District Court.

Earl W. Rogers, 41, was charged on June 29 with leaving scene of accident involving injury, failure to use child restraint system and obstructing an officer. Sequoyah County Court records show Rogers was charged with felony child sexual abuse and pornography on July 5 and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest the same day.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Jordan Galvan reported just before 11 p.m. on June 24 he was dispatched to a twovehicle accident on Highway 59 and County Road E. 1040 where he found an SUV with front-end damage. The driver of the SUV told Galvan the suspect had gotten out of the vehicle, yelled, and then drove east on Hwy. 101.

The vehicle was located about two miles from the location and Rogers was identified as the driver. Deputies reported a minor and a 1-year-old child were involved in the accident as well, and were found hiding behind a resident‚s barn.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Rogers reportedly admitted to driving the vehicle and was placed under arrest for leaving the scene of an accident involving personal injury, obstruction, failing to properly use child passenger restraint, failure to yield to oncoming traffic, and failure to comply with compulsory insurance law.

In a separate affidavit, Sequoyah County investigator Cindy Smith said she received a report from Roland Police officer Steven Edwards in reference to an alleged sexual assault of a minor and a forensic interview was conducted with the minor on June 29.

The minor said in August 2021 she was living at a Roland residence with her family, where Rogers also reportedly resided. The minor said the two of them were kissing in the living room when a family member came in and saw Rogers laying on top of the minor and started “flipping out” according to the affidavit. The minor said she told her mother what happened and her mother made Rogers leave. Rogers also reportedly told the minor he would‚ve made contact with her but didn‚t know if she had a phone or not. The minor alleged she and Rogers were still “seeing” each other when they could.

According to the affidavit, Rogers moved to a trailer in the Nicut area where the two reportedly had sexual intercourse, and Rogers taped it on his cell phone. The report also stated Rogers allegedly uses methamphetamine and provided the minor with methamphetamine on more than one occasion.

The minor said her mother didn‚t know she‚d been seeing Rogers until June 24, when they were reportedly involved in a car accident and the officer contacted her mother. The minor said after the crash, Rogers gave her his cell phone and a search warrant was obtained for the contents of it.

Smith spoke with Rogers on June 29 and when asked how he knew the minor, he said he was in a relationship with the minor‚s mother and had stayed at the residence with the family for the past two years. He claimed he and the minor became “close” and admitted to “making out” with the minor on the couch at the residence in Roland. He said he believed the minor was 15 years of age when the incident took place and a family member reportedly caught them. According to Rogers, after being caught by the family member, he apologized to the minor‚s mother and left the home. He reportedly moved back to the residence in October 2021, claiming that was when the relationship between he and the minor became sexual. He admitted to having intercourse with the minor numerous times at the residence over a period of a few months. He said he then moved in with a friend who reisided in Nicut.

Rogers said during the months of April, May and June of this year, he allegedly had sexual intercourse with the minor four to five times, according to the affidavit. When confronted about making the video of the two of them together, Rogers admitted to doing so on his cell phone and to using methamphetamine, but denied giving methamphetamine to the minor. When Rogers was asked if he would fill out a statement regarding what they‚d spoken about in the interview, he declined to do so. District Attorney Jack Thorp said felony child sexual abuse is punishable by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections not exceeding life imprisonment, or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $5,000, or both fine and imprisonment, while the pornography charge is punishable by imprisonment for not less than three years or by the imposition of a fine of not more than $20,000, or both fine and imprisonment. Thorp said persons convicted under this section shall not be eligible for a deferred sentence.