A Guthrie man is serving a one year jail sentence in the Logan County Detention Center and avoided a jury trial. However, questions are being asked as to why two charges were dramatically reduced and one dismissed.
In March 2012, Mark Couch, 36, was charged and plead not guilty to rape by instrumentation, child pornography and Computer Crimes Act. Earlier this month, the rape charged was lowered to child neglect and the child pornography charged was amended to taking clandestine photos. The computer crimes charged was dismissed.
Couch changed his not guilty plea to a guilty plea to the two lesser charges earlier this month. He was sentenced to 10 years to the Logan County jail all to be suspended except for one year to be served in the county jail. In addition, Couch was ordered to pay fines, court costs and cost of incarceration.
He was to report to jail by July 21.
KFOR-TV reported on the case and reached out to the Logan County District Attorney’s Office as to why the charges were reduced, but say they never heard back from the office.
One person tells Guthrie News Page that Couch will not have to register as a sex offender despite the acts against the teenage female. The person goes on to say that everyone needs to be warned of Couch.
Couch’s attorney, Irvin Box, told KFOR the teenager’s allegations did not hold up.
“The district attorney and I came to an agreement that the charges should be what they were and what he plead to as opposed to what the original charges were. There are some graphic things, statements put in the affidavit. I think when we finally got down to it, the evidence wasn’t going to show all of that.”
For the complete KFOR report follow this direct link.
Thank you for sharing. Please, everyone needs to be aware that he is a very bad man and the only reason he got out of doing more time is because his wealthy family could afford an attorney like Irvin Box. THIS MAN IS NOT INNOCENT.
I do not have all the facts but if there are photos of the crime this guy should be convicted and MUST be registered as a sex offender this is not acceptable anywhere and especially not in Guthrie!! the DA, Tom Lee and ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY, KEVIN ETHERINGTON need to be held accountable.
Was KEVIN ETHERINGTON bought off?
07-07-2014 CTFREE – Couch, Mark Shawn 2274640 Jul 7 2014 9:59:34:070AM – $ 0.00
JUDGE DUEL-THE STATE APPEARS BY KEVIN ETHERINGTON, ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY. THE DEFENDANT APPEARS IN PERSON AND WITH HIS ATTORNEY OF RECORD IRVEN BOX. THE DEFENDANT IS SWORN AND TESTIFIED. THIS MATTER IS BEFORE THE COURT TO BEGIN A JURY TRIAL BUT THE DEFENDANT’S ATTORNEY MAKES AN ANNOUNCEMENT THAT THE STATE AND THE DEFENDANT HAVE REACHED A PLEA AGREEMENT. THE COURT ORALLY AMENDS COUNT 1 TO CHILD NEGLECT AND ORALLY AMENDS COUNT 2 TO TAKING CLANDESTINE PHOTOS. AS TO COUNT 3 -THE STATE DISMISSES THE CHARGE WITH THE COST TO BE PAID FOR BY THE DEFENDANT. THE DEFENDANT WITHDRAWS HIS PREVIOUS PLEA OF NOT GUILTY ON CHARGES ONE, TWO, AND ENTERS A GUILTY PLEA TO THE AMENDED CHARGES AS TO COUNT ONE OF CHILD NEGLECT, AS TO COUNT TWO OF TAKING CLANDESTINE PHOTOS.
THE COURT DEFERS SENTENCING TO UNTIL JULY 5, 2024 AT 9:00AM. SPECIAL CONDITIONS OF THE DEFERRED SENTENCE ARE AS TO COUNT 1- THE DEFENDANT IS SENTENCE TO 10 YEARS IN LOGAN COUNTY JAIL WITH ALL TO BE SUSPENDED EXCEPT ONE YEAR TO BE SERVED IN THE LOGAN COUNTY JAIL. THE DEFENDANT IS TO REPORT TO THE LOGAN COUNTY JAIL BY JULY 21, 2014 AT 5:00PM TO BEGIN SERVING THE ONE YEAR IN THE LOGAN COUNTY JAIL. THE COURT ALSO ORDERS THE DEFENDANT TO PAY A $100.00 FINE, PAY ALL COURT COSTS, $240.00 COST OF INCARCERATION, $100.00 VCA, TO COMPLETE THE DOC SEX OFFENDER PROGRAM, ONCE THE DEFENDANT IS RELEASED THE DEFENDANT IS TO SUPERVISED FOR 2 YEARS BY THE DOC. AS TO COUNT 2 THE COURT DEFERS SENTENCING UNTIL JULY 5, 2024 AT 9:00AM. SPECIAL CONDITIONS OF THE DEFERRED SENTENCE AS TO COUNT 2 -THE DEFENDANT IS ORDERED TO PAY A FINE OF $100.00 AND ALL COURT COSTS. COUNT 3-THE COURT AT THE STATE’S REQUEST IS DISMISSING THIS WITH COST TO THE DEFENDANT. THE DEFENDANT IS ADVISED OF HIS RIGHT TO APPEAL. BOTH COUNTS ONE AND TWO RUN CONCURRENT. THE DEFENDANT IS TO REPORT TO THE LOGAN COUNTY JAIL BY JULY 21, 2014 AT 5:00PM TO BEGIN SERVING THIS SENTENCE. CASH BOND IS EXONERATED.
This is an outrage and someone needs to be held accountable! Call the DA and ask him what he is going to do about it. The crime happened in May 2012 this is not Justice and it certainly is not swift justice no wonder we are becoming lawless. Let us stop this trend here.
These are the facts:
It’s his hand in the picture that I found on his computer. HIS COMPUTER. Tucked away in a file somewhere he thought I wouldn’t look.
I tried to ignore that I found this when I first saw it because I DID NOT WANT TO LEAVE OKLAHOMA. I DID NOT WANT TO MOVE TO MAINE. I absolutely loved my life in Oklahoma and I was going to run away when I graduated high school because I knew if I told someone I would have to leave the town I grew to love. A couple weeks later I found the hidden camera set up. A camera disguised to look like a digital clock. Yes, he was spying to see if I had a boy over. Yes, I had a boy over. Yes, I was breaking his rules. BUT when I plugged the camera into his computer I found shocking footage of me, in the bathroom, getting naked about to take a shower. He was watching me get undressed. HIS OWN DAUGHTER. At that point I knew that the abuse was only going to get worse. I didn’t want to believe at first that my own father, the man who adopted me and took me into his care, was a perverted pedophile. I LOVED my father. He was the first man I was ever able to call a dad. My heart was broken and the feeling that I am left with about him is indescribable. I had nightmares for weeks after moving in with my mother.
Moving on:
After he was aware of what he was being charged with, he dyed his hair, sold all his shit, dumped his truck on the side of the road, AND FLED THE COUNTRY TO MEXICO. That is not included in the report either. Why would an innocent man go through all that trouble if it wasn’t his fingers on my privates?? Because he’s guilty.
Of course no one wants to believe that he is guilty because anyone who knew my dad knew him as a kind, caring, hard working christian man. And that’s why I was as shocked as all of you are when I found all this out on my own. It’s always the one you least expect that turns out to be a psychopath. That’s why you see all over the news about teachers and coaches touching the students. It’s an ACT to be able to be trusted around young people.
I have told this same story to many people and it’s a damn shame that i’m having to defend myself again. All I can do now is try to forget about all of this and live my life. I told you all the facts, you can decide what’s true. But even if you still don’t believe me, it doesn’t make him any less guilty.
If the DA would have looked in to Shawn’s past relationships/marriages, they would have realized just how troubled this man is and that this is not at all shocking to those who REALLY knew him… in his own words, “my father taught me well”… Shawn’s father is worth millions, and is a pastor in Louisiana.. Having know that family a long time, I have absolutely no doubt this is a case of money trumps truth!!
And @Devin you are not his only victim and will not be the last, I’m sure. It was not your fault, you didn’t do anything to “deserve” it.. Shawn has a charasmatic personality that makes others gravitate toward him, but inside he is an evil person who was taught at an early age that women are nothing more than “property”… it is just sad that someone out there will be his next victim due to the DA’s obvious love for money and lack of investigation into his ongoing behavior… Devin, you will be in my prayers!!