Student finds convicted rapist sleeping under school piano, Oklahoma cops say

An Oklahoma student found a man sleeping underneath a school piano, then immediately reported the sighting to a janitor, authorities said.

As the student was talking to the janitor, the man moved from under the piano and fled into a bathroom, according to an Oct. 24 news release from the Enid Police Department.

The janitor and school principal talked with the man, who was then escorted back to his vehicle and left “without issue,” police said. The man told school personnel “he was under the piano because people were after him.”

But the next day, St. Joseph Catholic School principal learned the man — later identified as Michael Eugene Steele, 44 — was a registered sex offender, according to the release. He contacted the police department after 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20, and said the man was found inside the school the night before.

An investigation into the incident began, police said, and Steele’s mugshot and vehicle photo were circulated throughout the department. Authorities said the man is a “transient sex offender.”

Steele was arrested Oct. 23 on a charge of failure to comply with the Oklahoma Sex Offender Registry Act, police said.

“We want to extend our gratitude to the Enid Police Department for their prompt and effective response to this situation,” the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City said in a statement to McClatchy News. “We commend the officers involved for their dedication to keeping the community safe and thank them for their professionalism.”

Steele was convicted in 2010 in Cleveland County on charges of first-degree rape, rape by instrumentation, lewd molestation/indecent proposals to a child and forcible oral sodomy, police said.

He entered the school through an unlocked door, according to the release.

“Sex offenders who think they can violate their sex offender registration need to be mindful that they are being watched, and will be charged accordingly,” Investigative Services Division Lt. Bryan Hart said in the release. “Such violations are handled swiftly and given the highest degree of attention by all officers of the department.”

Enid is about 100 miles north of Oklahoma City.

This story was originally published October 25, 2023 at 9:07 AM with the headline "Student finds convicted rapist sleeping under school piano, Oklahoma cops say."