A Level 3 sex offender was sentenced to 15 years in prison after admitting to being on the grounds of school and twice not following registration procedures.
James Chaney, 37, of Benton County, pleaded guilty Thursday to registered offender prohibited from entering upon school campus and two counts of failure to register as a sex offender. The plea was under an agreement that Chaney's attorney Rachel McKay reached with Stuart Cearley, chief deputy prosecutor.
Chaney was arrested May 11, 2013 in connection with being at Lincoln Junior High School and failing to register. He was arrested again in April 2014 for failing to register.
Cearley told Circuit Judge Brad Karren that on May 9, 2013 that Chaney went to the junior high school and checked out his girlfriend's child. Chaney lived in Benton County from Oct. 2012 to May 2013 without registering as a sex offender, Cearley said.
Chaney failed to given notification in Feb. 2014 that he had moved, according to Cearley.
The judge accepted the plea agreement and Chaney's guilty pleas.
Chaney was sentenced to 15 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction. He will have to abide by a suspended sentence agreement for 12 years after his release from prison.