HOT SPRINGS -- A Hot Springs man accused last year of abusing his girlfriend's 4-year-old daughter, including zip-tying her to furniture, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday in Garland County Circuit Court.
Clarence Eugene Reed, 48, who has remained in custody in lieu of $100,000 bond since his arrest Aug. 12, pleaded guilty Tuesday to first-degree domestic battery and was sentenced to 10 years. He also pleaded guilty to first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and was sentenced to five years, with the two sentences to run concurrently.
His girlfriend, Jennifer Diane Denen, 31, who was arrested at the same time on the same two charges, plus an additional felony charge of permitting child abuse, is scheduled for a hearing on her charges next Tuesday. She also has remained in custody in lieu of $100,000 bond since her arrest.
Garland County deputy prosecutor Shana Alexander said the victim and some of her siblings were turned over to the custody of her biological father, and he and other relatives, including an aunt and grandmother, were pleased with the conviction and sentence after Tuesday's hearing.
"They were glad they were not going to have to testify in the case," Alexander said, noting that Reed had no prior criminal history, which was one of the factors considered in his sentence.
According to the affidavit, Hot Springs police officers responded Aug. 12 to the Cooper-Anthony Mercy Child Advocacy Center after Arkansas Department of Human Services workers and center employees examined the victim and determined she had been abused.
The girl had deep purple bruising on her bottom, lower back and legs; a black eye; a swollen right cheek; a bruise on her forehead; healing scars across her back; and dried blood in the corner of her mouth, according to the affidavit. The girl also had ligature marks on her wrists indicating she had been restrained, and appeared to be malnourished.
It was noted that when asked her name by police, the girl responded "idiot." Another child at the residence told police the girl had been tied up at the house and they called her "idiot" rather than her name.
When questioned, Denen told detectives she had seen Reed strike the girl on her buttocks with a plastic bat and that Reed tied the girl to a chair using a plastic zip tie. Reed admitted to hitting the girl on the buttocks with a wooden paddle and that he and Denen used zip ties to secure the girl to the bed.
State Desk on 03/08/2017