For at least 15 years, Marcus Owens had access to children in Sand Springs, Oklahoma. He filled multiple roles at Sand Springs Public Schools: security guard, classroom assistant, substitute teacher, and paraprofessional educator. He served as pastor at his church. Earlier this month, he was arrested on one count of sexual battery involving a child, following a Department of Human Services referral and a months-long police investigation.

The referral came in November 2025. The arrest came eight months later.

Both institutions gave him sustained, trusted access to children over many years. Neither appears to have had processes in place that caught the alleged behavior before a DHS referral brought it to police attention.

Oklahoma has no statewide mandatory reporting requirement for clergy. Schools rely on periodic background checks that do not capture ongoing behavior or community concerns. DHS referrals can sit for months before resulting in arrests. Each of these gaps existed independently. Together, they created conditions that allowed this situation to go undetected for as long as it did.

We are calling on the Oklahoma State Legislature to pass mandatory reporting requirements covering all adults in supervisory roles with children, including clergy and school staff, and to direct Sand Springs Public Schools and the Oklahoma Department of Human Services to conduct independent reviews of their child safety screening and referral protocols.

Sign this petition to demand that Oklahoma close the gaps that leave children vulnerable in the institutions meant to protect them.