VAN BUREN — A 19-year-old Rudy man was being held in the Crawford County jail in lieu of $75,000 bond Wednesday after he entered an innocent plea to a charge he raped a young girl, according to the prosecutor’s case file.
The public defender’s office waived formal arraignment in Crawford County Circuit Court for Richard Lee Weaver and entered an innocent plea for him Monday. Weaver was arrested on a Dec. 27 bench warrant, according to the prosecutor’s file.
An 11-year-old girl told investigators in August that Weaver raped her multiple times and they had other sexual contact between Jan. 1, 2009, and Aug. 4, 2011, according to the file. She was 10 and younger at the time the acts occurred.
Deputy prosecutor Scott Houston said the charge was not filed against Weaver until last month while investigators determined whether Weaver was a youth or an adult when the acts were committed.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 12 on 01/03/2013