A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for a McLoud High School teacher facing three felonies after she was arrested on charges for allegedly soliciting sex with minors by use of technology.
Serena Cator, 43, was formally charged in Pottawatomie County District Court March 16 with three counts of soliciting sexual conduct or communication with a minor by use of technology.
A $15,000 bench warrant was issued for her arrest the same day charges were filed. Court records show the warrant was returned and filed on March 17 and her bond was set at $15,000 with stipulation she have no contact with the victims.
She made her initial appearance on April 13. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. July 27.
In Count 1, Cator is accused of between Aug. 1, 2022 and Nov. 14, 2022 of committing the crime of engaging in Communication for sexual interest with a minor by using technology by sending sexual messages and photographs through Snapchat to a 17-year-old in Pottawatomie County.
Count 2 charges Cator during that same time period with committing the crime of engaging in Communication for sexual interest with a minor by sending sexual messages and photographs through Snapchat to an 18-yearold at the time in Pottawatomie County.
In Count 3, she is accused during the same time period of committing the crime of engaging in Communication for sexual interest by use of technology by sending sexual messages and photographs through Snapchat to another 18-year-old in Pottawatomie County.
McLoud Detective Jan Montgomery, who headed up the investigation, states in a probable cause affidavit, “Serena Cator is a predator, a stalker and a pedophile, stalking young boys from the age of 14 to 18. Most of the young victims said they found the situation extremely weird and cut off the correspondence before they got lured to Snap Chat of just after.”
Montgomery said most of them felt uneasy about the constant texts and pictures from class and from sporting events, where Cator was bragging on the students. The officer further noted, “All of the parents said if it had been their daughter and a male teacher, they would have been alarmed but each said they pushed down the weirdness of it because it was their sons and a female teacher who they thought they knew.”
In the affidavit, it’s pointed out there are three known juveniles Cator ad mitted she was actively engaged in exchanging nude photos with and seven which were being groomed to do so.
Montgomery notes in the affidavit that she received information from McLoud High School that Cator had been messaging the male students, ages 14 to 18, sending and requesting nude pictures and sexual messages to and from the three known victims.
One of the parents, who said she became suspicious after her daughter made some remarks about Cator, notified the school and sent several messages to Mr. Jennings, the high school principal who immediately contacted the School Supt. Rhonda Hockenbury on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022.
The school reportedly conducted an internal investigation Nov. 14 through 15, and found overwhelming evidence Cator was exchanging texts with sexual content with several students ages 14 t o 18.
According to the affidavit, Cator admitted to it.
A call to contact Hockenbury regarding Cator’s status at the school, whether she had been suspended or had resigned, has gone unanswered.