A Bexley woman wanted on a charge that she had oral sex with a 14-year-old girl during a party at her home was arrested at a Far East Side apartment complex this morning.
Becky Jo Tatum, 41, of 2761 Bellwood Ave. was taken to the Franklin County jail after her 9 a.m. arrest at the Kensington Commons apartments at Gender and Refugee roads. Police said they found Tatum after receiving an anonymous tip.
Tatum, a mother of two, regularly had parties with teenagers at her home, and it was during one of those parties this month that, the 14-year-old said, Tatum “was acting very flirtatious with everyone,” according to a police request for a search warrant.
Tatum took the girl’s hand and led her to the master bedroom, where they had oral sex, court documents said. The girl was not forced to have sex and returned to the party afterward, she told police.
The girl told police that she told Tatum’s teenage daughter about the encounter, and the daughter replied: “There were no hard feelings, that ‘Mom has done this before with my friends. I’m kinda use (sic) to it.’ ”
Warrants issued Friday charged Tatum with having unlawful sex with a minor, but police couldn’t find her this week. Her case will be presented to a grand jury and could lead to more charges, police said.
Tatum pleaded guilty in 1998 to promoting prostitution, a felony, and attempting to possess drugs and attempting to receive stolen property, both misdemeanors. A year earlier, she pleaded guilty to attempting to traffic drugs, also a misdemeanor.
