BENTONVILLE -- A Garfield man was sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison after admitting to sexually abusing two boys.
Richard Dale Goad II, 37, pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of rape, permitting abuse of minor and possession of controlled substance with purpose to deliver. The plea was under an agreement Stevan Vowell and Kevin Church, Goad's attorneys, reached with Sarah Phillips, deputy prosecutor.
Goad's jury trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday.
A detective with the Benton County Sheriff's Office started investigating in July 2020 after receiving a report concerning Goad raping a 6-year-old and a 5-year-old boy, according to a probable cause affidavit. The older boy had disclosed the abuse, according to the affidavit.
The older boy was interviewed at the Children's Advocacy Center of Benton County where he provided details of being abused by Goad, according to the affidavit.
Sheriff's detectives found a large bag with suspected marijuana in it while searching Goad's residence.
Goad told Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren he had not been forced to enter into the plea agreement. Goad admitted to raping the boys.
Phillips read a victim impact statement on behalf of one of the boys. The boy referred to Goad as Dale in the statement, and said Goad had harmed him.
"Dale did this for so long and so many times that I do not even remember," Phillips read. "It made me feeling not so good anymore and confused about what a safe person does. Being a kid is supposed to be fun. When this happens, kids still deserve to have a good life."
Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren accepted sentenced Goad to 25 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction. He will have to serve at least 17 years before he is eligible for parole.
He will be required to register as a sex offender, and he must complete a sex offender treatment program.
The judge ordered Goad not to have any contact with the victims. Goad was also ordered not to have any unsupervised conduct with minors.
"I'm sorry for the things I've done," Goad said at the end of the hearing.