A Little Rock man was sentenced to 30 years in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to the 2015 rape of a 10-year-old girl in Hot Springs.
Derek Sean Johninson, 43, who was set to stand trial March 27, appeared before Garland County Circuit Court Judge Marcia Hearnsberger to enter his plea to the felony charge, punishable by up to life in prison, and in addition to prison time was ordered to register as a sex offender and pay a $250 registration fee.
Johninson, who has remained in custody on zero bond since his arrest Dec. 30, 2015, is classified as a habitual offender, having been convicted in 1991 of theft by receiving; in 1996 of theft by receiving and theft of property; in 1998 of possession of a firearm by certain persons and criminal use of a prohibited weapon; and in 2001 of first-degree terroristic threatening, all in Pulaski County. He will be given credit for time served since his arrest.
According to the affidavit, on Sept. 13, 2015, the Hot Springs Police Department was notified by officers with the Racine, Wis., Police Department that a 10-year-old female in their jurisdiction had filed a complaint alleging that a known suspect, identified as Johninson, had forced her to perform oral sex and raped her on multiple occasions over the last year.
She said the incidents occurred at night while she was trying to sleep at Johninson's former residence in Hot Springs. She said the last incident had occurred on Sept. 11, 2015, in Hot Springs prior to her and her mother moving to Wisconsin.
The victim was complaining of pain in her privates and a sexual assault kit was taken from her at a hospital in Wisconsin and sent to the HSPD who submitted it to the state crime lab in Little Rock for analysis.
On Dec. 23, 2015, the lab reported results indicating the presence of semen and blood in the victim's underwear. A warrant was issued for Johninson's arrest and he was taken into custody a week later in Little Rock.
Local on 03/16/2017