LAWTON – A preliminary hearing is scheduled on May 20 for former Lawton City Councilman Jay Ron Burk, who is charged with first-degree rape of an unconscious man and exhibiting/distributing obscene material involving that individual.
Burk, 59, is accused of raping a man after taking him to Burk’s home in Lawton following a night of excessive drinking Oct. 13-14, 2024.
According to an affidavit filed in Comanche County District Court by Detective Abe Woelfel, Burk “used his phone to take pictures” of the unconscious man’s genitals.
In the following weeks “Burk told several individuals, in social settings, that he had sex” with the man, and “showed three individuals, in social settings, on separate occasions,” photos of the man passed out on his Burk’s couch, Woelfel wrote in his affidavit.
Subsequently the man filed a report with the Lawton Police Department. Woelfel said the man told him he “blacked out from intoxication” and “the last thing he remembered was Burk giving him an alcoholic drink.” The alleged victim said he “never consented to having sex with Burk” and “couldn’t remember Burk having sex with him.”
Lawton police executed a search warrant at Burk’s home on Jan. 3 and seized his telephone as evidence. “The phone was searched and pictures were found” of the man passed out on Burk’s couch.
The first felony charge alleges Burk knew the man was insensible when he molested him. Upon conviction, the penalty is not less than five years in prison, life imprisonment, or life without parole.
The second felony charge alleges Burk took pictures of the nude man while he lay unconscious on Burk’s couch, and the former councilman shared those photos with multiple individuals. That crime can be punished with a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $20,000, or incarceration for not less than 30 days nor more than 10 years, or by both fine and imprisonment.
Burk was released from custody on $50,000 bond. He is represented by Lawton attorney Toni Himes Capra.
Burk pleaded no contest in Comanche County District Court on March 1, 2022, to a charge of drunken driving. He received a one-year deferred county jail sentence and was fined $250 plus court costs.