A 61-year-old Antlers man is being held on a $1 million bond after Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents identified him as the suspect in a child sexual abuse case that allegedly dates back to 2018. Robert Shircliff was arrested August 4 by the Pushmataha County Sheriff's Office and booked into the Pushmataha County Jail after a felony arrest warrant was issued the same day by the Pushmataha County District Court.
The investigation began June 24, when the Pushmataha County District Attorney's Office asked the OSBI to look into a child sexual abuse case, according to a release from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. OSBI special agents subsequently identified Shircliff as the suspect. Court records cited by KXII show Shircliff faces felony allegations including rape of a child, sodomy, and lewd acts with a child, with the alleged offenses stretching back roughly eight years to 2018.
Following his arrest, Shircliff remained in custody at the Pushmataha County Jail on the $1 million bond, per the same court records cited by KXII. The OSBI release states this remains an ongoing investigation, and the agency is asking anyone who suspects their child may have had inappropriate contact with Shircliff to contact its tip line at [email protected] or 1-800-522-8017. As with any criminal case, Shircliff is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
A Small-Town Case With State Agency Backup
The OSBI, headquartered in Oklahoma City, credited the Pushmataha County District Attorney's Office, the Pushmataha County Sheriff's Office, and the Antlers Police Department for their assistance with the investigation. It is not the first time the state agency has stepped in on a child sexual abuse case in the small town: in August 2021, the OSBI investigated a similar case in Antlers at the request of the local district attorney, an inquiry that led to the arrest of then-44-year-old resident Robert Noah Shores, according to MyParisTexas.
Prosecutorial authority over the case rests with the District 17 District Attorney's Office, which covers Pushmataha, Choctaw, and McCurtain counties, the outlet notes. Antlers, nicknamed the Deer Capital of the World, is the county seat of Pushmataha County and had a population of 2,221 in the 2020 U.S. Census, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The county itself had an estimated population of about 10,807 in 2025, ranking it 55th among Oklahoma's 77 counties, per USAFacts.
Tougher Penalties Under Oklahoma Law
Shircliff's arrest comes roughly a year after Oklahoma toughened its statutory penalties for crimes against children. In May 2025, the state enacted Senate Bill 599, which allows sentences up to life without parole or the death penalty for certain child rape convictions, according to News 9. Under separate Oklahoma statute, individuals convicted of child rape or child sexual abuse face Level 3 sex offender classification, which carries mandatory lifetime registration and quarterly check-ins, per the Wirth Law Office.
The Pushmataha County Sheriff's Office operates the county's single detention facility, the Pushmataha County Detention Center at 207 SW 3rd St in Antlers, a rural jail rated for approximately 76 beds. Antlers itself reflects the broader economic realities of rural southeastern Oklahoma, with a median household income of $36,336 and a poverty rate of 26.1%, according to U.S. Census Bureau data cited by World Population Review.
Investigators have not disclosed whether additional victims have come forward, and it remains unclear what specifically prompted the June referral from the district attorney's office to the OSBI. The case is expected to proceed through Pushmataha County District Court, though a preliminary hearing schedule has not yet been announced.
