BENTONVILLE — A Seligman, Mo., man pleaded not guilty Monday to raping a 75-year-old woman.
Brian Tyler Jordan, 41, is charged with rape, a Class Y felony punishable with a prison sentence ranging from 10 to 40 years or life imprisonment. He entered a not guilty plea during an arraignment before Circuit Judge David Clinger.
AT A GLANCE
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Brian Tyler Jordan was being held in the Benton County Jail on a $250,000 bond, but Circuit Judge David Clinger ordered Jordan released from custody on his own recognizance because prosecutors had not filed the charges within 60 days of his arrest. An omnibus hearing is set for 8:30 a.m. Aug. 23.
The woman reported an old neighbor, who she only knew as Brian, was visiting at her home, according to court documents. She said he raped her after she let him into her house on Feb. 27, according to the affidavit.
The attacker assaulted her and threatened to kill her before raping her, according to court documents.
The woman was taken to an area hospital where a sample of her attacker’s DNA was retrieved and sent to the Arkansas Crime Laboratory.
The woman was able to identify Jordan through online photographs of registered sex offenders, according to court documents.
Jeremy Felton, an investigator with the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, went to Missouri to interview Jordan, according to court documents. Jordan admitted to knowing the woman. He told Felton he was at his brother’s home in Pea Ridge when the woman was raped, according to the affidavit.
Jordan denied raping the woman, but provided a DNA sample, according to court documents.
Felton received a report in May from the Crime Lab that showed Jordan’s DNA was consistent with the DNA sample retrieved from the victim, according to court documents. That report led to Jordan’s arrest.