James N. Brown, J.D.
Detective - Retired

In my last blog I discussed the case of Joelle Ogletree, a Texas high school teacher who was accused by three of her students of having sexual misconduct with them. Ogletree was indicted by a grand jury in 2003. In 2004, after turning down a plea deal, her trial began. Only two of the boys, Matt and Chayce, were to testify against her because the third boy, Sam, admitted he had fabricated his allegations against Ogletree. Matt’s testimony did not go well as details of the alleged conduct were altered, forgotten, or added. The case against Ogletree ended in a mistrial, and all charges against Ogletree were dropped.

Despite the end of the criminal case in her favor, the Texas Education Agency still tried to revoke Ogletree’s teaching license. A hearing on the matter was held in June 2006, after which the judge ordered Ogletree’s teaching license to be “granted without delay.” After an unsuccessful appeal by the Texas Education Agency, Ogletree was issued a new teaching license in November 2006. She is now suing the school district for wrongful termination.

A few weeks ago, the case was featured in a two-part Dr. Phil Show. Ogletree appeared in both episodes and adamantly denied any sexual misconduct with any of her students. In the first episode, Dr. Phil interviewed Chayce and his mother by telephone. Chayce stated that he and Ogletree had been involved in sexual misconduct. Dr. Phil offered Chayce a polygraph. Chayce accepted and a nationally respected operator administered the examination. Chayce showed deceptive on all questions related to his allegations against Ogletree.

In the second episode, Matt appeared on the Dr. Phil show and confronted Ogletree. He was unyielding in his allegations that he and Ogletree had been involved in substantial sexual conduct. However, details of his allegations were challenged by Ogletree, and she pointed out that his statements on the show differed from his earlier statements and his sworn testimony. Matt was offered a polygraph. He accepted. A highly respected polygraph examiner, who was once the head of the Los Angeles Police Department’s polygraph unit, gave the test. Matt showed deceptive on all questions related to his allegations against Ogletree. Even in the face of the polygraph results, Matt continued to allege that he and Ogletree had been involved in sexual misconduct.

Ogletree appears to have done everything in her power to clear her name and reputation. All criminal allegations against her were dropped. She has won back her teaching license. She is suing for wrongful termination. One of the boys recanted his allegations, and the other two showed deceptive on polygraphs administered by respected and skilled examiners. Despite all these favorable results, when polled by Dr. Phil, a few people in his audience indicated they believed there had been some inappropriate sexual conduct between Ogletree and her students.

So, did she or didn’t she? What do you think? If you would like to discuss this further, please post your comments or questions in my Ask The Expert forum.