Tulsa man arrested for rape of young girl

TULSA, Okla. — A Tulsa man is in jail after police say he raped a young girl.

23-year-old Caleb Avant Debose was booked into Tulsa County Jail on a first-degree rape charge Wednesday morning.

Tulsa Police say that in early March, they responded to a rape report at OSU Medical Center. The victim, a 13-year-old girl, said she was riding the bus with Debose and they had sex in an abandoned home just west of downtown Tulsa.

“A guy like that is looking for an opportunity perhaps,” Benny Colbert, a Tulsa resident.

Colbert is no stranger to taking the bus near 3rd and Denver in downtown Tulsa.

He said there are a lot of people including homeless people who get on the bus. Some of those people are harmless, but others he said are known to be dangerous.

“As far as the community, homeless, everyone seems to know everyone,” Colbert said.

Colbert said he hurts for the teen.

“It’s a child. At that age, it’s going to hurt them in the long run,” Colbert said.

The victim undertook a SANE exam and picked Debose out of a photo lineup. According to police, the victim told Debose about her age last December.

Tulsa Police Detective Luke Winder said he was able to pin Debose as the suspect after reaching out to Tulsa Transit with the information the victim gave him.

“They came back fairly quickly that they suspected it was Caleb Debose. Based off of that, I created a photo lineup that included Caleb and she tentatively picked him out,” Winder said.

On Monday, a search warrant was issued and police collected a buccal swab from Debose to compare to the victim’s SANE exam.

Debose agreed to talk to police and told them he and the victim were at an abandoned house just outside of downtown Tulsa smoking marijuana. Debose said he had sex with the victim, who he thought was 15.

“If it is not someone your parents trust or have met then I would not go with an adult if you are not aware of who they are,” Winder said.

An arrest warrant was issued for Debose on Tuesday. He faces a charge of first-degree rape of a victim under 14 years old.

His bond is set at $25,000.

Debose appeared in court on Tuesday and was ordered to have no contact with the victim. He will appear back in court on Friday.