Bentonville man sentenced to 100 years in prison

White
White

BENTONVILLE -- A judge said there is a special place in hell for a Bentonville man who admitted raping and sexually assaulting two girls.

Circuit Judge Robin Green had those simple and pointed words for Damon Wayne White, 41, after sentencing him to 100 years in prison.

The judge gave White an opportunity to address the court, but he gave no apologies. Instead, White said he held no malice toward his accusers.

Green told White she did not see any remorse in him.

"I believe there is a place in hell for you, Mr. White," the judge said. "You girls hold your heads up."

Green had earlier told the girls they are not only survivors, but heroes because their actions led to White's arrest and prevents other girls from being harmed.

White pleaded guilty to rape, sexual assault and two counts of engaging children in sexual explicit conduct for use in visual or print medium.

White was arrested May 6, 2017, after a 15-year-old reported he forced her to have sex on multiple occasions, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Stuart Cearley, chief deputy prosecutor, told the judge White began grooming the girl to have sex with him by showing her sex videos and buying her lingerie and sex toys.

Cearley said White recorded some rapes and claimed he was going to distribute the images to others. Law enforcement recovered multiple videos of him having sex with the girl, Cearley said.

A second girl, also 15, reported White engaged in sex acts with her, according to the affidavit. Cearley said White gave the girl a narcotic so he could have sex with her.

One of the girls wrote a victim impact statement and Cearley read it in court.

"Most days I still can't believe that this even is my story," Cearley read. "Yet here I stand -- a girl who from the outside -- may seem unchanged, but a girl who has in many aspects been to war. A girl who has lost a lot, but is still fighting back."

She described how the abuse caused her grades to fall in school and would affect future relationships.

"Part of the reason that I haven't given up all hope is because I feel like I need to be strong for all of the other girls and boys throughout the world that have experienced these things," Cearley read from the letter. "Some people don't have the courage to stand up for themselves so I want to be one of the people that shows them it is OK to come out and get help because you will have support through everything even if you don't think you will."

White was sentenced to 40 years for rape, 30 years for sexual assault, 20 years for the engaging charge and 10 years for the second engaging charge. The sentences will be served consecutively and he must serve 40 years before being eligible for parole.

White will have to abide by a 10-year suspended sentence agreement if he lives long enough to be paroled, register as a sex offender and undergo sex offender treatment.

The judge ordered White not to have any contact with the victims and no unsupervised contact with any minors.

"Damon White is an evil man," said Nathan Smith, Benton County's prosecuting attorney. "Yet, despite the vile acts he inflicted on his victims, these young women have overcome him. Their courage to confront him in court forced him to admit his guilt."

NW News on 09/26/2018

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