BENTONVILLE — A Gentry man was acquitted Monday of sexually assaulting a woman because he has a mental disease.
Benjamin Phillip Skaggs, 52, was charged with sexual assault in the second degree, a Class B felony punishable with a prison sentence ranging from five to 20 years.
He was arrested Feb. 17 and released a few days later from the Benton County Jail after posting a $10,000 bond.
Skaggs’ arrest was the result of an allegation that he sexually assaulted a woman at a Siloam Springs apartment complex.
Skaggs was ordered to undergo a mental evaluation at Ozark Guidance in Springdale. Skaggs was diagnosed with schizophrenia, paranoid type, according to court documents.
The evaluation also found Skaggs lacked the capacity to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law.
Circuit Judge Robin Green ordered the acquittal because of the mental disease.
Skaggs was taken into custody to be transported to the Arkansas State Hospital in Little Rock.
In an unrelated case, Jeffrey Lynn Baehler, 47, of Tulsa, Okla., was sentenced to six years in prison for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl.
Baehler previously pleaded guilty to sexual assault in the second degree and possession of methamphetamine.
He pleaded guilty to the court, so his punishment was up to Circuit Judge Robin Green.
Green sentenced Baehler to six years in the Arkansas Department of Correction and gave him a 10-year suspended sentence for sexual assault. She also gave him a 10-year suspended sentence for methamphetamine possession.
Baehler will be required to register as sex offender and must enroll in the sex offender treatment program at Ozark Guidance. He must also undergo substance abuse treatment while in prison.
Baehler was ordered not to have any unsupervised contact with any minors.