BENTONVILLE -- A 17-year-old Siloam Springs teen is accused of sexually assaulting a girl with a broomstick and recording the act.
Jeran Sorum is charged with rape, a Class Y felony, and computer exploitation of a child, a Class B felony. He pleaded not guilty to the charges during his arraignment Monday before Circuit Judge Robin Green.
Prosecutors have charged Sorum as an adult. His 18th birthday is April 28.
Sorum is accused of having sex with a minor who was incapable of consent at the time because she was mentally incapacitated. The computer exploitation charge accuses Sorum of permitting a child to engage in sexual conduct and filming the acts, according to court documents.
Sorum's arrest stems from an investigation that began last year after a 15-year-old reported being raped at a party in Siloam Springs.
The girl reported she was at a party Sept. 28, 2013, and she drank enough alcoholic beverages to become dizzy and throw up, according to a probable cause affidavit. The girl said two of her friends helped her back inside a house to shower and change her clothes, the affidavit states.
The affidavit states the girl remembered being in bed and Sorum and another person were in the room. The girl said she remembered pushing Sorum off of her, but she was too weak and Sorum had sex with her. The girl believes the other person recorded the act, according to court documents.
Mike Lira, a detective with the Benton County Sheriff's Office, interviewed two people who reported seeing a video of Sorum with the girl.
Police obtained a search warrant and recovered Sorum's cellphone from his residence, according to court documents. Police recovered a 43-second video from the phone, according to the probable cause affidavit.
An omnibus hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. June 9.
NW News on 04/22/2014