Dad arrested in girl’s abuse, officers report

HOT SPRINGS — A Mountain Pine man was arrested early Monday, accused of punching his 14-year-old daughter in the face.

James Daniel Caldwell, 45, was taken into custody at his home at 12:13 a.m. and charged with third-degree domestic battery, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail, according to reports. He is scheduled to appear Monday in Garland County District Court.

According to an affidavit, Garland County sheriff’s office Cpl. Ronnie Swinney and Sgt. Greg Kellar were sent to the residence about 11 p.m. Sunday to investigate a possible domestic disturbance involving a teenager.

The dispatcher said a call had been received from an advocacy center in Nebraska that reported receiving a video from the teen showing her being abused.

Deputies spoke to the girl, who told Swinney that her father had been abusing her since she was younger and that she had reached out to an advocacy center in Nebraska that she found after typing in “abuse” on the Internet, according to the affidavit.

She said she was attempting to send some video when Caldwell erased her phone and punched her in the eye, the affidavit said. Swinney noted that he could see swelling and blueness around the girl’s eye. The deputies notified the Arkansas Department of Human Services and Arkansas State Police Crimes Against Children Division about the case.