Convicted child molester charged with sex offender registration violation

  STILLWATER — A 39-year-old homeless Stillwater man on probation for kidnapping and lewd acts with a child has been jailed on $10,000 bond pending a court appearance this week on a charge of failing to register as a sex offender, following a tip from a Perkins couple at the Payne County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026.

   Sheriff’s Investigator Rockford Brown alleged in an affidavit, “They told me they encountered Ruben Torres outside their home in Perkins, Payne County, on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. Torres approached them in their front yard and asked if they were going to church and if he could go with them.

   “(They) were preparing to get into their vehicle and go to church at the time, and they agreed to take him with them. Following church, they dropped Torres off at the McDonalds in Perkins.

   “(The woman) did an internet search for Torres and found an article published by KUSH radio out of Cushing. The article detailed Torres’ arrest for living too close to a school in Cushing from February 2026.

   “Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, the Payne County Sheriff’s Office began canvassing homeless areas for Torres. I made contact with the executive director at the Mission of Hope. She said Torres was at the Mission Tuesday morning asking for assistance. Torres did not produce an ID, and she did not know who he was at the time.

   “During the search for Torres, deputies gathered multiple witnesses who stated that Torres is often present at the community meal served every Wednesday

at the Highland Park United Methodist Church located at 524 N. Stallard.

   “Deputies Pruitt and Kuhn were able to locate Torres at 504 N. Perkins Road where he was taken into custody without incident.

   “Torres was released from the Payne County Jail (from an earlier conviction) on July 12, 2026, and was required to register an address within 72 hours of his release. Torres never registered an address with any jurisdiction in Oklahoma as permanent or homeless.”

   If convicted of failing to register as a sex offender from July 12, 2026, through Sept. 16, 2026, Torres could be given a 10-year prison term, court records show.

   According to the state Department of Corrections, Torres was convicted four years ago in McClain County of kidnapping and lewd acts with a child under 16 in 2020 and placed on probation on concurrent suspended sentences of 20 years and 25 years.

   In Payne County on April 21, 2026, Torres was given a 180-day jail term for violating a sex offender registration requirement by living across from Cushing High School, followed by two and one-half years of probation, with requirements of providing a DNA sample and maintaining sex offender registration, court records show.