A former Hot Springs Village man was sentenced to six years in prison Monday after pleading guilty in Garland County Circuit Court to having sex with an underage female in 2016.
Justin Michael Crue, 32, who now lists a Malvern address, was set to stand trial on the charges on Jan. 31, 2019, but opted to plead guilty to two felony counts of fourth-degree sexual assault and one count of failure to appear and was sentenced to the maximum of six years on each count, to run concurrently.
Two additional counts of failure to appear were withdrawn and court costs were expunged for time served since his last arrest on July 20. A permanent order barring him from contact with the victim remains in place.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on Oct. 6, 2016, Garland County sheriff's investigators received a report of a 14-year-old female having sexual contact with a 29-year-old male with the last encounter occurring at a residence on Crystal Hill Road.
The next day, the victim was interviewed at the Cooper-Anthony Mercy Child Advocacy Center by forensic interviewer Tracey Childress, with the interview observed by sheriff's Investigator Jennifer Tonseth and a court-appointed advocate.
During the interview, the victim said she had consensual sex twice with Crue in September while at a friend's house on Crystal Hill.
She stated she had met Crue three or four years earlier and had previously baby-sat for his children. She noted Crue was aware of her age at the time of the sexual encounters.
She said she and Crue would interact via phone calls, texts and Facebook, noting she had messaged him via Facebook while at school earlier that day.
The affidavit noted sheriff's investigators were not able to make contact with Crue about the allegations. A warrant was later issued for his arrest and his address at that time was listed as Lonjeta Lane in Hot Springs Village.
Crue was arrested on Dec. 30, 2016, and was released on $5,000 bond on Jan. 7, 2017. He failed to appear for his arraignment on March 20, 2017, and a bench warrant was issued. He was arrested again on April 4, 2017, and pleaded not guilty to the charges on April 10, 2017.
He was released on $15,000 bond on July 15, 2017, but then failed to appear for a pretrial hearing on Jan. 29, 2018, so a bench warrant was issued again. He was arrested on Feb. 26 and was released on $30,000 bond on March 21 and set to stand trial on June 12. He failed to appear on his trial day and a bench warrant was issued again.
He was arrested for the last time on July 20 and had remained in custody since then on zero bond.
Local on 09/26/2018