(OK) Wetumka Schools Arrested & Confessed Pedophile Withholds Phone Passcode, Lies for Low Bail, Home Never Searched
Is Rural Elitism Favoring Former Mayor? Actions of Hughes County Justice System Suggest Protectionism for Public Ed Perpetrator
This article is part of an ongoing series involving Wetumka Public Schools (OK). Link to six (6) previous articles.
On August 21, 2024, Brent McGee, former athletic director, head of alternative education, multi-sport coach and husband of Wetumka Public Schools (WPS) longtime superintendent Donna McGee, was arrested and charged with seven (7) counts of child sexual abuse and one (1) count of pattern of criminal offenses, all felonies. McGee’s accusers, all male, former students, range in age from teenagers to men in their 50s.
Two weeks prior to McGee’s arrest, a civil suit was filed against WPS, Donna McGee and Brent McGee within the US District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma by former WPS students Brandon Rhinehart and Zachary Williams, both 19 years of age at the time of filing.
The civil complaint describes how the McGees moved each boy into their home where much of the alleged abuse took place and outlines a knowing failure by the district and then superintendent Donna McGee to protect students from abuse by Brent McGee.
Download civil complaint document:
Despite multiple other men having disclosed sexual abuse by McGee during their youth to law enforcement as part of the criminal case, only Rhinehart and Williams were within the highly restrictive statutes of limitation allowing a civil suit against the school district.
Shockingly, victims of child sexual abuse in Oklahoma must be 19 or younger to sue a school or other institution for failing to protect them from a known, internal predator.
The V1SUT Vantage has been telling the stories of McGee’s accusers since October of 2023. The articles include an audio recording of McGee admitting to the abuse of Casey Yochum, a former student who has fought since 2020 to expose what he describes as McGee’s 30+ years of molesting adolescent boys (audio provided below; recorded Nov 28, 2020; for transcript of audio, see previous reporting):
Yochum shared the recording with law enforcement, and in 2022, was wired by the FBI to obtain a second recording of himself and McGee that, according to Yochum, contains additional McGee confessions involving Yochum and other students.
Due to the ongoing investigation, V1SUT has not yet had access to the FBI’s recording which is reportedly in the hands of District 22 DA Erik Johnson and Chief Investigator Doug Parker. Neither responded to our recent questions concerning the case.
On August 9, 2022, four (4) FBI agents visited WPS to interview McGee and instruct the district to remove him from all school duties due to the nature of the investigation.
On October 26, 2023, the Oklahoma State Board of Education (OSBE) voted to suspend McGee’s teaching certifications. Shortly after, McGee voluntarily surrendered those credentials, forfeiting his right to a due process hearing. During 2024, Donna McGee retired and is no longer the district’s superintendent.
While it may seem like justice is finally being served for the boys of Hughes County, the criminal case against McGee appears to be wrought with irregularities, suspiciously incomplete evidence collection and court records, and unjustifiable exceptions in favor of McGee.
Did McGee Dumpster Evidence? McGirt Mayhem, Rural Conflicts of Interest Leave Crime Scenes (McGee Home, Classroom & Business) UnSearched
Early on in the McGee investigation, a number of agencies including the OSBI and Muscogee (Creek) Nation Lighthorse Police were coordinating with FBI agents. Wetumka lies within northern Hughes County which, under the 2020 US Supreme Court’s McGirt ruling, gives jurisdiction over some crimes to either the Muscogee Nation or the US federal government.
Then Hughes County Sheriff Marcia Maxwell, just months prior to the FBI’s visit to WPS in 2022, very publicly cancelled her department’s agreement for cross-deputization and coordination with the Muscogee Nation.
Following the FBI’s visit to WPS in 2022, and during a time of ongoing confusion concerning prosecutorial jurisdictions in the wake of the McGirt decision, the FBI turned the McGee investigation over to the Hughes County Sheriff’s Department and Sheriff Marcia Maxwell.
Maxwell, previously a nurse by profession, was elected as sheriff in 2014 and is reported to have significant, personal conflicts of interest within the McGee case. Maxwell grew up in Hughes County and local sources report Maxwell’s husband, also in law enforcement, to be a personal friend of the McGee family. Brent McGee’s brother reportedly served within Maxwell’s own wedding party.
Sheriff Maxwell refused to answer any questions regarding the case, and on one occasion, hung up on this journalist. Maxwell chose to retire during 2024 prior to the end of her term and did not seek reelection.
During the course of Maxwell’s criminal investigation, this publication has found no evidence within public records that any warrant was ever requested to search McGee’s residence, the family business where he employed reporting victims (the local Dairy Queen) or the WPS alternative education building where McGee had his office and daily, unsupervised access to students.
Similarly, DA Erik Johnson and Chief Investigator Doug Parker have had the case since December of 2023, and to date, this publication cannot locate any request to the court to search any physical location identified by McGee’s accusers.
At least five (5) accusers have reported the McGee home as at least one setting for their sexual abuse by McGee. Individual accusers also report McGee’s possession of both digital and physical pictures and at least one video recording associated with the abuse.
In the absence of any search by law enforcement, locals have provided pictures and report “two roll-away dumpsters” appeared in front of the McGee residence shortly after McGee’s arrest. A smaller dumpster is reported to have been filled by the McGee’s in early September, removed and replaced with a larger dumpster.
Photos provided to this publication show the second, larger dumpster was also filled prior to removal from the McGee residence.
The McGee home has not publicly been listed for sale. And now, the local court has allowed McGee’s cellphone, another critical location for evidence collection in the case, to go untapped by investigators for months.
For Months, McGee Refused to Provide Cellphone Passcode as Ordered
According to court records, since his arrest in August, McGee has refused to provide the passcode to his cellphone which was confiscated as evidence at the time of his arrest. Prosecutors have requested access to all stored communications on the phone, including from third-party applications, as well as photographs, video recordings and any internet-based communications under McGee’s own name or any alias/nickname.
A simple, public records search suggests several phone numbers and as many as nine (9) email addresses may be associated with McGee. Those email addresses include sexually suggestive names including WOODYYL@yahoo.com and CALISGUY1979@comcast.net.
After months of delay and just days prior to a scheduled hearing on the case, McGee’s criminal attorney, Shannon McMurray, filed a “Motion for Discovery Master” which, if granted, would release the contents of McGee’s phone to an appointed third-party. McMurray argues McGee’s phone contains protected “attorney-client privileged communications”.
At a hearing on November 19th, 2024, Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Blayne Norman requested McGee be found in contempt of court and his bond revoked for his failure to provide the phone passcode. That request was denied by associate district judge Trisha Deanne Smith who also grew up in Hughes County.
At a subsequent hearing on the issue on January 9th, 2025, it was decided Judge Smith would be reviewing the cellphone’s contents to determine what evidence would be released to prosecutors. It is unclear when that review will take place.
The court’s delay in compelling McGee to provide access to his cellphone contents presents a risk that evidence, particularly content held indirectly through internet-based platforms, may have been deleted through access points not involving the actual phone since its seizure five (5) months ago.
Unverified List of Character Witnesses Basis for Reduced Bail Amount: List Includes Conflicted School Board Member Previously Indicted for Embezzlement
McGee is currently out on a bond reduced from the ADA’s recommended $1 million to $250,000 based upon an unverified list of character witnesses presented to the court on the morning following McGee’s arrest. McGee’s attorney at that time informed the court each listed witness had contacted Donna McGee directly within the previous 24 hours and agreed to testify as to McGee’s reputation within the community.
McGee accusers now report more than one of those listed individuals have since contacted them to report never having given permission to be listed as a character witness for McGee. No record of the list of character witnesses is publicly visible within court records though the names were read aloud in court.
In the bond hearing, Judge Trisha D. Smith did not request verification of any on the list though at least one, Donald Williamson, long-time Wetumka Board of Education member, local funeral home owner and patriarch of gospel singing group The Williamsons, was present at the hearing.
Williamson was seated in court with Donna McGee on August 22nd, 2024, and after the hearing, is reported to have approached McGee accusers Casey Yochum and Justin Cote to deny having given his permission to be listed as a McGee character witness. According to both Yochum and Cote, Williamson claimed to have accompanied Donna McGee at the hearing only as her pastor.
In 2015, Williamson was indicted for felony embezzlement and a misdemeanor violation involving the prepaid services of twenty-eight (28) client families of his funeral home.
McGees Claim Poverty, Lie About Property Ownership for Additional Bond Reduction: Court Clerk Conceals Final Bond Amount Paid
McGee informed the court he could not pay the required $25,000 (10%) associated with his bond due to financial hardship and could not put the couple’s residence or business (Dairy Queen) up as collateral because his mother held the titles to both.
While county records show the family Dairy Queen is owned by “McGee Dairy Queen, Inc”, McGee’s parents, Phillip & Shirley McGee, deeded the couple’s current residence to both Brent & Donna McGee in 2004, at a sale price of $84,000. Since taking legal possession of the property, Brent & Donna McGee have mortgaged the home several times.
McGee appears to have misinformed the court about the property’s ownership, and the home is currently valued at $210,000.
Of further concern is the district court’s concealment of the bond amount Donna McGee actually paid on behalf of her husband after a further reduction was allowed due to their claim of poverty. Donna McGee, prior to her retirement in 2024, collected a total compensation package of over $140,000 annually from WPS.
Hughes County Court Clerk Ashley Sanford’s office appears to have covered that amount with the corner of another paper before releasing the document as part of a public records request (see bottom right of image below):
An inside source informs Donna McGee paid only $17,000 for her husband’s release. He has been ordered to have no contact with minors.
The next hearing in the McGee criminal case will be held on March 18th, 2025 at 9 am at the Hughes County Courthouse in Holdenville.
Have a tip or information you’d like to share? Comment publicly to this post or email privately (connect@v1sut.com).
Copyright Notice: Individual readers are encouraged to share this original content. Others, including publications, aggregators and social media outlets not operating as an individual must request and receive written permission from The V1SUT Vantage before using this content in whole or in part. Email connect@V1SUT.com to request permission.
I think the case should be held outside of Hughes county, as stated in this report the judge herself is known with mcgees..so that tells you he will get a lesser charge...wow...poverty my ass
Has Dairy Queen made any comments/statements and wouldn’t there be some sort of violation in the franchisee agreement? I’m surprised they haven’t shut down the business or made for change of ownership.