Sherwood man accused of rape

A UAMS Medical Center student was in jail Friday night after his morning court appearance when he was accused of an eight-year-long sexual relationship with a teenager that started when the girl was 8 years old.

After his arrest at the UAMS campus Thursday, Paul Perkins, 37, who lives with his parents in Sherwood, pleaded innocent in Pulaski District Court to rape and second-degree sexual assault. He was remanded to remain in the Pulaski County jail in lieu of a $100,000 bond.

Although Perkins listed UAMS Medical Center as his employer and earned a doctorate in medicine at the institution in 2004, he was not a practicing physician.

UAMS officials said Perkins was pursuing a doctorate in biology and chemistry. They said that although he worked as a graduate student for a stipend, he was never involved with patient care.

An investigation began April 15 when the mother of a 16-year-old girl called the sheriff’s office to report she had just learned her daughter had been sexually abused by Perkins since she was 8 years old, according to the report.

Detectives said the victim’smother noticed Perkins was “going above and beyond doing things” for her daughter, such as giving her money and rides to places.

She confronted her daughter and asked her “if she was doing anything for him in return,” according to the affidavit.

The girl denied any such arrangement at first, according to the affidavit, before confiding in her mother that Perkins paid her to perform sexual acts.

Detectives said the pair’s relationship started in November 2006, and the victim told detectives that on “two occasions” Perkins videotaped them having sex.

During one of those acts, Perkins bought her an “outfit” that he made the girl wear, according to the affidavit.

When investigators searched Perkins’ Sherwood residence, they found the described outfit exactly where the victim said he kept it.

The victim told investigators Perkins kept the video of their “encounters” on his computer and that she had watched it with him before, according to the affidavit. She also told authorities that sometimes they watched other videos of “children having sexual intercourse, but she did not know who those children were.”

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 13 on 02/02/2014

Upcoming Events