BENTONVILLE -- A Level 3 sex offender was sentenced to 15 years in prison after he admitted he was at a Bentonville school and twice didn't follow registration procedures.
James Chaney, 37, of Benton County pleaded guilty Thursday to registered offender prohibited from entering upon a school campus and two counts of failure to register as a sex offender. The plea came under an agreement that Rachel McKay, Chaney's attorney, 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 for failing to register.
Cearley told Circuit Judge Brad Karren that on May 9, 2013, Chaney went to the junior high school to pick up his girlfriend's child. Chaney lived in the county from October 2012 to May 2013 without registering as a sex offender, Cearley said.
Chaney failed to give notification when he moved in February, Cearley said.
Karren accepted the plea agreement and Chaney's guilty pleas.
Chaney was sentenced to 15 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction. He must abide by a suspended sentence agreement for 12 years after his release from prison. He also must pay $1,620 in court costs.
NW News on 07/19/2014