Decatur man sentenced to 15 years in prison

William Keith

William Keith

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

BENTONVILLE -- A Decatur man was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl.

William Wesley Arlin Keith, 47, was originally charged with rape, but on Jan. 29 agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charge of sexual assault under an agreement Tyler Williams, deputy prosecutor, reached with Keith's attorney, Rex Earl Starr.

Keith was arrested Feb. 3, 2017.

A Decatur school employee reported the complaint against Keith to authorities, according to court documents.

The girl was interviewed at the Children's Advocacy Center of Benton County and provided details of the assault. The girl said Keith threatened her with a gun because he was concerned she would tell someone, according to the affidavit.

Circuit Judge Robin Green accepted the plea agreement and Keith's guilty plea.

Keith was sentenced to 15 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction. He will have to abide by a suspended sentence agreement for 15 years after his release from prison.

He received 361 days of jail credit for the time he spent in custody awaiting his trial.

Keith will be required to register as a sex offender. He must enroll in the prison's sex offender treatment program.

He must pay $1,670 in court associated costs.

Keith was ordered not to have any contact with the girl. The judge also ordered Keith not to have unsupervised contact with any minors.

General News on 02/07/2018