BENTONVILLE -- A judge sentenced a Sulphur Springs man to nine years in prison Thursday for his sexual graphic communication with a sheriff's detective who was pretending to be a teen girl.
Bryan Ashley, 41, pleaded guilty to Internet stalking of a child.
Ashley was arrested Feb. 14 after communicating with a Benton County Sheriff's Office detective who was posing online as a 13-year-old girl, according to a probable cause affidavit. Alison Nguyen, the detective, asked the person if he was in school, and he responded he was 30, according to the affidavit.
Detectives were able to identify Ashley as the person communicating with Nguyen, according to the affidavit. Ashley's communication with the detective were sexually graphic, according to court documents. Ashley arranged a meeting with the detective on Feb. 14 at Olive Street Park where he was arrested.
Circuit Judge Brad Karren accepted Ashley's guilty plea and sentenced him to nine years in the Arkansas Department of Correction. He will have to abide by a suspended sentence agreement for 11 years after his release from prison and will be required to register as a sex offender.
NW News on 12/15/2017