Former firefighter sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex crimes

BENTONVILLE — A former Centerton firefighter was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday for sexually assaulting a teenage girl.

The victim, now 19, told the court Jordan Thompson had taken two years of her life, but she wouldn’t allow him to take any more from her.

Thompson, 36, of Centerton, pleaded guilty Tuesday to sexual assault; distributing, possessing or viewing sexually explicit conduct involving a child; and engaging a child in sexually explicit conduct.

Thompson was battalion chief with the Centerton Fire Department when he was arrested at the department in November 2018.

Thompson and the teen weren’t in the same room when she made a statement to the court. The hearing was done through video conferencing.

“I was assaulted,” she said. “I was used. I was manipulated. I was betrayed. I was hurt.”

She wakes up every day and smiles, laughs, bakes, reads and does what makes her happy, she said.

“This case and what he did will always be a part of my past, but it will never define me,” she said. “I am not the stupid girl who was manipulated. I am the girl who was strong enough to get through it all.”

The investigation into Thompson started after the Benton County Sheriff’s Office received a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children concerning his involvement with the girl, according to court documents.

She was interviewed and said Thompson touched her and sent her photographs on Snapchat, according to the probable cause affidavit. She said the abuse started when she was 15, according to the affidavit.

Sarah Phillips, deputy prosecutor, told Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren the teen was in favor of the plea agreement. Karren sentenced Thompson to 20 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections.

Thompson must register as a sex offender. He was ordered not to have contact with the teen or any minors except his biological son.

Thompson said he regretted his actions and had failed the girl.

Thompson