A Hartshorne man has been arrested after allegedly sending and receiving a sexually charged image from a 14-year-old girl, according to the Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded to a 911 call on June 19 around 5:16 p.m. after the victim’s grandmother reported that 57-year-old Richard Scott had sent inappropriate messages to the juvenile, a longtime family friend, who had reportedly been living in her home on Main Street since November 2024.
Hartshorne Police Chief Joe Watts arrived at the residence and detained Scott before deputies arrived on scene.
A deputy said the family member gave both verbal and written consent to review her granddaughter’s phone, which contained a series of sexually explicit text and multimedia messages exchanged with Scott. The messages reportedly included photos of both parties’ faces, helping confirm their identities, along with a photo believed to be an explicit photo of the juvenile.
Based on the content of the messages, Scott was arrested on suspicion of making a lewd or indecent proposal to a child under the age of 16, a felony offense under Oklahoma law when the accused is at least three years older than the victim.
Scott was transported to the Pittsburg County Criminal Justice Center for booking. Deputies seized both the victim’s and Scott’s cellphones as evidence, which are being submitted to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation for forensic analysis.
Scott is currently being held on a $250,000 bond.