Man convicted in Rapert case vows appeal

CONWAY — A man convicted of filing a false police report against state Sen. Jason Rapert said Wednesday he plans to appeal.

Stephan Ferry, 45, of Conway was convicted Tuesday of the misdemeanor and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 150 days suspended. He must serve the remaining 30 days in jail within 90 days under the sentence handed down by Faulkner County District Judge David Reynolds.

Ferry also must pay a $1,000 fine and have no contact with Rapert or the senator’s family.

“Justice was served,” Rapert, R-Conway, said in a statement.

“The criminal tactics used by this man to try and hurt me and smear my reputation were unsuccessful,” Rapert added.

Ferry’s attorney, Chris Murray, said Wednesday that he did not know if there would be an appeal. But Ferry said later that he was “100 percent” sure he would appeal and added, “That was a complete injustice.”

Murray said Ferry also is “interested in a change of venue” for any appeal to circuit court.

Under state law, Ferry could have received up to one year in jail.

The charge resulted from a telephone conversation between Rapert and Ferry in January. Both men recorded the call, though Ferry’s recording did not start at the beginning. Ferry told Conway police that his recording also later cut off “for an unknown reason,” according to a police report.

Police filed one report, then another after investigating the matter further.

According to police, Ferry told an officer on Jan. 23 that Rapert had become increasingly angry during the phone conversation and told Ferry, “‘I have people to come after you.’” The next day, another officer went over that statement with Ferry who reportedly said it was an accurate representation of what Rapert had said.

Police reviewed both men’s recordings and said they found no threat matching what Ferry had reported.

“During the call, Mr. Rapert never made a statement of ‘I have people to come after you.’ He did, on several occasions, indicate that he felt Mr. Ferry’s repeated contact over the past few years constituted harassment. Mr. Rapert told Mr. Ferry several times that he was going to contact law enforcement,” police reported.

At one point, one of the reports quotes Rapert as saying on the recording, “‘I want to put you on notice that if you continue to harass and intimidate and send threatening messages to me via email, social media, or contact my office then I will file a police report with law enforcement and they can investigate this matter further, sir.’”

During the call, Ferry responded to Rapert’s indication that he would call law enforcement if needed. “‘That’s cool, and you can give them my number, and they can call me,’” police quoted Ferry as saying.

“Mr. Ferry’s assertion that he did not know what Mr. Rapert meant by his statements [about contacting authorities] lacks any credibility,” police wrote.

Police said Rapert had provided documentation of past communication with Ferry, including an email in which Ferry wrote in part, “I am going to expose you. Any thing you have done, I will put under the microscope.” Ferry reportedly added that someone in Little Rock was “going to prove that you [Rapert] have no business in politics.”

Conway City Attorney Chuck Clawson and Deputy City Attorney Charles Finkenbinder were unavailable for comment by phone late Wednesday.