A local man was sentenced Tuesday to six years' supervised probation and 120 days in jail after pleading guilty to felony charges stemming from his arrest last year for exposing himself to an underage girl and groping her on multiple occasions several years ago.
Brandon N. Duncan, 36, who lists a Little Bear Trail address, pleaded guilty in Garland County Circuit Court to second-degree sexual assault, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and sexual indecency with a child, punishable by up to six years, and in addition to probation and jail he was fined $5,000 and ordered to pay $670 in court costs.
Deputy Prosecutor Kara Petro said a permanent court order barring Duncan from any future contact with the victim was issued and he will have to register as a sex offender from now on. She also noted if he violates any of the terms of his probation it would be revoked and he could face up to 26 years in prison.
Petro said the victim, now 16, and her guardians had requested the sentence Duncan was given. "That's what she wanted," she said, noting if the victim had wanted Duncan to serve prison time she would have taken the case to trial.
The allegations involved incidents that occurred beginning when the victim was about 8 years old and continued until she was 10 or 11 years old, but they were not reported to anyone until last year, which would have made proving the allegations difficult, she said.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the victim was interviewed Feb. 17, 2017, at Cooper Anthony Mercy Child Advocacy Center and said Duncan had exposed himself to her when she was younger than 10 years old, and fondled her when she was 10 or 11 years old.
After the first incident, the victim said she reported what happened to her family and elders of her church, but nothing was done.
The other incidents occurred when the victim was 10 or 11 years old, and she began returning to Duncan's residence to baby-sit his daughter.
On March 3, 2017, Investigator Taylor Griffie with the Arkansas State Police Crimes Against Children Division, interviewed the victim's mother, 41, who confirmed her daughter had "disclosed the exposure and abuse" by Duncan directly after it happened. She said her family urged her not to contact law enforcement and to let the church handle it, and she agreed.
The mother stated her daughter again disclosed to her in October 2015 about the later incidents "after nothing had been done." Hot Springs police Detective Kenny May also spoke to the mother and was given the same statement of events, the affidavit states.
On March 23, May spoke to an elder at the church where the victim and her family attend. The elder stated he was part of two investigations concerning Duncan and the victim.
He stated that the victim did disclose all of the same information to him at the time, and it was handled within the church and not reported to law enforcement. According to the elder, the most recent investigation was two years ago, and her initial accusations came about two to three year prior to that.
Petro said she believed Duncan had admitted to the allegations to church members, but those admissions were protected under the church's confidentiality policies.
Local on 03/14/2018