A former principal at Miami High School and Miami Junior High School in Oklahoma is accused of handing a student a cookie box that concealed a sex toy instead of a snack, an incident that has since led to a criminal charge and her removal from the district website. Pamela Rae Couch-Bevis, 63, of Joplin, was placed on paid administrative leave the day after the alleged Aug. 25 incident, and she is no longer listed among staff on the Miami Public Schools site.
According to fourstateshomepage.com, four boys went to Couch-Bevis's office on Aug. 25 to pick up the school's mascot costume ahead of an upcoming football game. Court documents cited by the outlet describe an empty Nabisco assorted cookie snack box filled with purple and pink tissue paper that concealed the sex toy. One student told investigators Couch-Bevis handed him the box and told him to look inside, and that thinking he was reaching for a cookie, he instead pulled out the sex toy, per the same account.
The students reported what happened to their coach shortly afterward, the outlet notes, and the coach in turn reported the incident the same day, prompting an independent investigation by a Miami Police Department detective, according to KTUL. One child described Couch-Bevis to investigators as known for picking on the basketball boys, per KTUL's reporting, though the article does not elaborate further on that characterization.
Sex Toy Traced Back to a February Bathroom Discovery
The sex toy at the center of the case was not new to Couch-Bevis's office. Per fourstateshomepage.com, it had been seized by her in February after being found stuck to a wall in the boys' restroom. One child told investigators the item had been found in a bathroom during the previous school year, according to KTUL, but the outlet reports Couch-Bevis did not answer why she never got rid of it after confiscating it.
Couch-Bevis gave investigators her own account of how the box ended up in a student's hands. She told the detective she had made a poor joke, and separately said one child pulled the box from her closet, according to KTUL. She also said the incident was not intentional and that she did not keep the sex toy on purpose, the outlet reports. Fourstateshomepage.com similarly quotes her telling investigators she made “a poor choice in making a joke” and that she “didn’t keep it on purpose.”
Charge Filed, Case Sent to a Judge
KTUL reports Couch-Bevis is charged with one count of publication, distribution, or participation in the preparation of any obscene material. Separately, newstalkkzrg.com reports that a district judge reviewed the affidavit Monday and found sufficient probable cause for the case to move forward. KTUL also reports a bench warrant was issued for Couch-Bevis on Monday and that she had no readily available mugshot.
KTUL reports Couch-Bevis was booked into Ottawa County Jail.
Miami Public Schools placed Couch-Bevis on paid administrative leave on Aug. 26, the day after the alleged incident, according to newstalkkzrg.com's report. She was principal of both Miami High School and Miami Junior High School before the leave, per KTUL, and remains absent from the district's staff listing as the case proceeds through the courts.
