A Hot Springs Village man was sentenced to six years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to recording video of a 15-year-old girl while she was taking a shower.
Bryan Benjamin Quinonez, 28, who has remained in custody since his initial arrest Dec. 5, 2016, pleaded guilty in Garland County Circuit Court to four felony counts of video voyeurism and was sentenced to the maximum of six years on each count, all to run concurrently, and ordered to pay $250 in court costs.
Quinonez previously pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of third-degree domestic battery which he was initially arrested for and was sentenced to one year in jail, with a scheduled release date of Dec. 4, 2017. The voyeurism charges were filed on Jan. 11, 2017, while he remained in custody in lieu of $2,500 bond.
According to the affidavit, on Dec. 5, 2016, Garland County sheriff's investigators received a report from the Arkansas Child Abuse Hotline regarding the video voyeurism of a 17-year-old female by a known suspect, identified as Quinonez.
The next day, the victim was interviewed at the Cooper Anthony Mercy Child Advocacy Center by forensic interviewer Tracey Childress. She stated that, on Dec. 4, her mother and Quinonez, her mother's boyfriend of eight to 10 years, were fighting.
She said her mother came into her bedroom and told her she found video of the victim "getting in and out of the shower" on Quinonez's cellphone. Her mother told her the video was from when they were living in a previous home in Jessieville when the victim was around 15 years old. The victim said she never saw the video.
The mother confronted Quinonez about the video and told him she was going to call 911. He grabbed the phone from her, but she took it back. Then he choked, scratched and fought the mother trying to get the phone back, but she kept it, escaped and called Hot Springs Village police, who responded to the residence.
Officers located Quinonez in the bedroom of the residence and arrested him at that time on the domestic battery charge.
Sheriff's investigator Jennifer Tonseth later confirmed the video of the victim was shot at the Jessieville residence.
On Dec. 9, Quinonez was questioned by Tonseth and advised of the voyeurism allegations against him. He admitted to video recording the victim using his phone and claimed he forgot the videos were still on his phone.
Local on 08/09/2017