Local man sentenced to 30 years for sexual assault
An El Dorado man was sentenced to 30 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections and ten years suspended imposition of sentence after pleading guilty last week to sexual assault.
Lucan Worsham,
41, pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault with a habitual offender enhancement as part of a plea deal negotiated by the 13th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and Worsham’s attorney, David Cason.
Worsham appeared in court Tuesday during a 13th Circuit, Fourth Division docket.
According to court records, Worsham was arrested during a Union County Sheriff’s Office investigation into a middle school-aged student who was reported as a runaway.
Investigators allegedly found messages on a school-issued computer between the student and Worsham, in which arrangements were being made for Worsham to pick the victim up.
After meeting with a woman who told deputies she knew where Worsham and the victim were located, investigators found the victim at an abandoned house in Norphlet where Worsham allegedly spent the night with her.
Investigators interviewed both the victim and Worsham and learned eventually from both parties that Worsham engaged in sexual contact with the underaged victim.
Investigators looked further at the messages between Worsham and the victim and allegedly found that Worsham used sexually explicit language in them.
When confronted with these messages, Worsham allegedly “began laughing” and told investigators that another individual “had his phone” and “must have sent the messages.”
Worsham was originally charged with rape and internet stalking of a child; the charge became second-degree sexual assault as the result of the plea deal.
Worsham is currently incarcerated in the Arkansas Department of Corrections, according to ADC records, for prior convictions including possession of a controlled substance and maintaining a drug premises.