BENTONVILLE — A Decatur man was sentenced to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexuallyassaulting a 7-yearold girl and holding several people at gunpoint.
Christopher John Beisly, 29,pleaded guilty Monday morning to sexual assault in the second degree, a class B felony; two counts of aggravated assault, a class D felony; three counts of false imprisonment, a class C felony; and possession of a firearm by certain persons,a class B felony. He pleaded guilty under a plea agreement attorney Christopher Lyons reached with Deputy Prosecutor Joni Rose.
Beisly was arrested Jan. 20.
Decatur police received a sexual-abuse complaint Jan. 19 involving Beisly and the girl, according to court documents. The girl was interviewed the following day at the Children's Advocacy Center of Benton County but didn't disclose any abuse allegations during the first interview, according to a probable-cause affidavit in the case. The girl later told Decatur police officer Jeannie Yates that Beisly had touched her in a "naughty way," the affidavit states. During a second interview at the CAC, the girl provided more details of the alleged abuse, according to court documents.
At the conclusion of the interview, the victim's mother, the victim, two other children and two adults returned home, and Beisly was at the residence. Beisly, armed with a loaded handgun, admitted to making everyone come inside the residence and threatened to shoot them if they didn't.
The mother said Beisly threatened to kill himself. She also feared for her life, court documents state. One of the other adults also told police he believed Beisly would have killed them if police had not arrived, according to court documents.
Beisly allowed the mother to step outside to smoke a cigarette. She was then able to call police. Decatur officers Mike Savage and Sgt. Joe Savage responded to the call.
The officers entered the house and apprehended Beisly, who denied having a gun, according to court documents. The officers later found a .22 caliber gun in a cabinet, court documents state.
The judge also heard from the victim, now 8 and in the second grade. A victim impact statement was read on behalf of the girl.
"He hurt me," the girl's statement read. "I did not like it at all. He is mean. He is really mean."
Circuit Judge Robin Green accepted Beisly's plea agreement and the sentencing recommendation.
Beisly was sentenced to 50 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction. After his release, he must abide by a suspended-sentence agreement for 15 years.
He will be required to register as a sex offender and must complete the prison's sex-offender treatment program.
Beisly was ordered not to have any contact with the girl and not to have unsupervised contact with any minors.
He also must pay $1,420 in court-associated costs.
News, Pages 2 on 09/30/2009