A 60-year-old Franklin County man has been accused of using four young men to recruit boys for sex with him or to watch them have sex with others, court records show.
Michael Ray Roe of Mulberry is free on four bonds totaling $250,000 after being charged with 26 sex crimes in Franklin and Crawford counties that are alleged to have occurred as early as 2013. The Mulberry Police Department began investigating the case in mid-April.
Most recently, Roe was named in three cases filed July 15 in Franklin County Circuit Court.
In one case he was charged with two counts of rape, two counts of transportation of minors for prohibited sexual conduct and two counts of fourth-degree sexual assault.
The rapes reportedly involve sex with boys younger than 14. The sexual assault charges accuse him of having sex with boys younger than 16, according to descriptions of the charges.
The second case charged Roe with two counts of transportation of minors for prohibited sexual conduct and two counts of fourth-degree sexual assault. The third case charged him with two counts of transportation of minors for prohibited sexual conduct.
He is to be arraigned Sept. 1 in Circuit Court in Ozark. At a probable-cause hearing July 19, Circuit Judge Dennis Sutterfield ordered that Roe have no contact with the victims in the cases, wear an electronic monitoring device and adhere to an 8 p.m. curfew.
In Crawford County, Roe was charged in Circuit Court in May with one count each of second-degree sexual assault and first-degree terroristic threatening.
In April, he was charged in Crawford County with two counts of rape and 10 counts of fourth-degree sexual assault.
In both Crawford County cases, according to court records, Fort Smith attorney Rex Chronister waived arraignment on the charges and entered innocent pleas on Roe's behalf.
No trial dates have been set for Roe on the Crawford County cases.
In interviews with boys reportedly involved in the Franklin County cases, they said Roe paid them after sex, with the amount ranging from $40 to $200. One boy told an investigator he performed sexual acts for Roe 40 to 60 times, according to an affidavit for one warrant.
The boys also said Roe threatened to kill them if they ever told anyone what he was doing to them.
Four other men, ranging in age from 19 to 24, were charged in Franklin County Circuit Court. They are accused of recruiting boys for Roe and participating in sexual acts with the boys and with Roe, according to court records.
Dillion Harrison, 19, of Mulberry was charged in a Circuit Court warrant July 15 with one count of sexual indecency with a child. He was arrested and freed last week after posting a $30,000 bond. Like Roe, he was ordered to appear in court for arraignment Sept. 1.
Cory Oxford, 24, of Van Buren was charged in a warrant with two counts of rape and one count of transportation of minors for prohibited sexual conduct. The transportation charge accused Oxford of acting as an accomplice with Roe to transport minors to him while knowing or having reason to know the boys would be involved in sexual contact.
John Davis, 20, of Mulberry was charged in a warrant with one count each of transportation of minors for prohibited sexual conduct and sexual indecency with a child.
Weston Bailey, 20, of Van Buren was charged with one count of sexual indecency with a child.
Oxford, Davis and Bailey had not been arrested as of Wednesday night.
State Desk on 07/28/2016