HOT SPRINGS -- A Hot Springs man who was arrested in May in the rape of a 12-year-old girl has been charged with four more felonies after videos of the girl were found in his email.
James Eugene Sharp, 32, who was initially charged with rape May 10, was charged June 16 with four felony counts of video voyeurism. He has also been charged with third-degree domestic battery and first-degree terroristic threatening.
Rape carries a punishment of up to life in prison. Each of the other charges Sharp faces is punishable by up to six years in prison.
Sharp is scheduled to appear in court today on the rape and video voyeurism charges and Aug. 1 for the third-degree domestic battery and first-degree terroristic threatening charges.
According to affidavits, on May 9, the Garland County sheriff's office received information from the Arkansas Child Abuse Hotline about the possible sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl.
Sharp's wife told authorities that, on April 29, she received information that her husband had sexually abused a 12-year-old girl. His wife then confronted him, and he denied the allegations, according to the affidavits.
On May 9, Sharp accused his wife of cheating on him and struck her several times, according to the affidavits. She said Sharp told her that "if she called the cops [about the sexual abuse allegation] he will come back and kill her; a restraining order won't stop him."
His wife had bruising on her left breast, upper left arm, left forearm, left hip, left knee and left shin, according to the reports.
On May 10, the 12-year-old was interviewed at the Cooper Anthony Mercy Child Advocacy Center, and said that, while she was in a bathroom, she saw a cellphone pointed over the shower curtain.
She said she believed it was Sharp who was filming her.
Investigators said they learned that Sharp was attempting to flee to Georgia, and he was arrested May 10 by Garland County sheriff's investigators and Hot Springs police officers at a motel.
During their investigation, it was determined a video of the girl was uploaded to Sharp's email account and, on May 17, a search warrant was executed on the account. On June 5, investigators received a CD from Google containing four videos of the girl undressing that were found on the email account.
Metro on 06/27/2016