A man and woman who pleaded guilty to victimizing several dependents placed in their home on the heels of another abusive situation have joined three other adults serving prison sentences for crimes against the children.
Valerie White assumed care of three children and a then-24-year-old woman with developmental disabilities in 2016, when authorities learned her relative, the relative’s boyfriend and his former wife had neglected and sexually abused them, court records indicate.
Christina Mathews and Brian Campbell are both serving multiple life sentences for their crimes, and Beverly Vaughan is now on probation for child abuse.
White and her boyfriend, Curtis Cochran, were charged with similar crimes in 2018 and were set to face trial following a preliminary hearing in which at least a half-dozen witnesses testified, including a 6-year-old victim and her principal.
Cochran allegedly raped and sexually abused the children and used a stun device on them and the 24-year-old, who testified that Cochran sold her for sex in exchange for methamphetamine.
White reportedly was aware of the abuse and encouraged the children to keep it hidden. She pleaded guilty in 2019 to child neglect and abuse by a caretaker and was sentenced to 17 years and 10 years, respectively, in Department of Corrections custody to run concurrently. The 54-year-old is currently incarcerated at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center, according to online records.
Cochran pleaded guilty last month to child neglect, abuse by a caretaker, feloniously pointing a firearm and possession of a controlled drug. He was sentenced to 27 years in DOC custody, with the first 17 years in custody and the last 10 suspended, and two 10-year sentences, all to run concurrently with the one-year sentence the 41-year-old is currently serving in the Tulsa County jail.
Cochran, who received credit for the time he has already served in custody, was ordered not to have contact with the victims. He is required to register as a violent offender under the Mary Rippy Violent Crime Offenders Registration Act.
