Four Pope County residents waited for charges to be filed against them Wednesday in two cases involving sexual assault of children.
According to the Pope County sheriff's office, Paul Myers, 41, of Dover; Kenneth Myers, 43, hometown unavailable; and Christopher Wilkins, 39, and Autumn Wilkins, 24, both of Russellville, were arrested on accusations of rape. No formal charges were filed against them as of Wednesday, Prosecuting Attorney David Gibbons said.
Pope County District Judge Don Bourne set bail at $750,000 on Wednesday for Christopher and Autumn Wilkins and $200,000 for Kenneth Myers. He also set bail at $350,000 for Paul Myers on Tuesday, according to the sheriff's office.
According to reports released by the sheriff's office, Christopher Wilkins was accused of having intercourse and committing other sexual acts Saturday with a 14-year-old girl at his home. The report said Autumn Wilkins was present and "found humor in the situation, laughing while it took place."
The girl's mother told investigators the assaults on her daughter had been going on for a while, but her daughter only now was speaking out. Questioned by investigators, the girl said she didn't report the assaults sooner because Christopher Wilkins told her that if she talked about them to anyone, her father would get in trouble.
In the case involving Paul and Kenneth Myers, one report said a 35-year-old woman from Dover reported to a sheriff's deputy on Sunday that Paul Myers sexually assaulted her 13-year-old daughter multiple times.
In another report taken Saturday, a 29-year-old Russellville woman reported that Paul Myers took photos of the genitalia of her four children, ages 4-10 as they slept at his home Friday night and Saturday morning.
She reported that two of her children told her they awoke and saw Myers taking the photos. He took them into a bathroom, filled the tub with water and dish soap then grabbed the two children and held their heads under water, according to the report. He threatened that if they told anyone about what happened, he would kill everyone in the house, the report said.
The mother woke the next morning, saw Myers again taking photos, found the drenched bathroom and gathered up her children and left, the report said. One child was taken to a Russellville hospital because she was sweating, complained of a sore throat and her eyes were rolling back into her head.
An email Wednesday from sheriff's administrative assistant Ramona Woods said the reports involving Paul Myers also involved Kenneth Myers but that he wasn't named in the initial report, which was released Tuesday. Woods didn't return calls Wednesday seeking clarification on how Kenneth Myers was involved.
Metro on 05/20/2016