MADISON COUNTY — Acting on tips, police in Madison County on Tuesday arrested the owner of a general store on multiple felony counts of rape and possessing and manufacturing child pornography, among other charges.
James D. Hanna, 66, has been charged with four counts of rape, three counts of manufacturing child pornography, three counts of sexual indecency with minors and 50 counts of possession of child pornography, according to a news release from the MadisonCounty sheriff’s office.
Hanna is the owner of the Japton Store on Arkansas 295 near the Wesley community of Wesley, according to the release.
He is being held in the Madison County jail in Huntsville with additional charges pending, a spokesman said.
Japton resident Cara Harriman said the arrest was met with surprise in her tiny, close-knit community in central Madison County.
“It’s just sad when we have something bad happen,” Harriman said. “We have an awesome community, people that are very supportive of each other. He was very active in the community. He helped with the [volunteer] fire department and different activities.”
Madison County sheriff’s Capt. Robert Boyd did not return a message Wednesday requesting further comment.
Bill Allred, deputy prosecuting attorney for the 4th Judicial District, which includes Madison County, said Wednesday that he hadn’t seen the arrest report and couldn’t comment.
The sheriff’s office, which investigated Hanna after allegations made by parents, contacted the Arkansas State Police’s Crimes Against Children Division before executing a search warrant on Tuesday, the news release states.
Authorities seized several items from an apartment connected to the store, including boxes of pornographic materials of nude girls, according to the release.
Also seized were laptops, digital media, digital cameras and several videotapes, according to the release.
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Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 08/30/2012