BENTONVILLE -- A Bella Vista man pleaded innocent Monday to charges he sexually abused four children.
John Clifford Longnecker, 77, entered the plea during his arraignment before Benton County Circuit Judge Robin Green. Longnecker is charged with two counts of rape, two counts of second-degree sexual assault, 20 counts of distributing or possession of viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, and four counts of engaging children in sexually explicit conduct for use in visual or print media.
The Benton County public defender's office will represent Longnecker.
Green set Longnecker's bail at $200,000. Chief deputy prosecutor Stuart Cearley had asked Green to increase Longnecker's bail to $250,000. Longnecker was being held in lieu of a $150,000 bond. Deputy Public Defender Kevin Lammers objected to the increase.
Longnecker was arrested July 22. He is accused of sexually abusing four girls over a period of several years, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The girls were interviewed at the Children's Advocacy Center of Benton County, the affidavit states. The court document states that the girls all reported instances of being touched while either sitting on a couch in the man's home or on an orange bucket in the backyard. They used anatomically correct dolls to re-enact the actions, according to court documents.
Longnecker and his wife befriended the family of one of the victims, and Longnecker would have the children over to help him in the garden as well as to play games on his cellphone, according to the affidavit.
He told police that his life was over and also told police of situations that matched what the girls reported, according to the affidavit.
Police asked Longnecker whether his computer had child pornography, and he said it did not, according to the affidavit. Police seized the computer, and a forensic search found images of child pornography, according to court documents.
Metro on 08/30/2016