Man gets 60 years for assaults
Sweeten found not guilty on rape count
A Miller County jury handed down a cumulative 60-year prison sentence Wednesday for a man who molested two girls he is related to by marriage.
Michael Lee Sweeten, 53, was found guilty of three counts of second-degree sexual assault and not guilty of one count of rape and one count of second-degree sexual assault. The jury sentenced Sweeten to a 20-year maximum term on each of the three sexual assaults for which they convicted Sweeten and recommended to Circuit Judge Brent Haltom that the terms run consecutively for a total sentence of 60 years.
Sweeten, who had been free on bond, was taken to the Miller County jail following the trial to await transport to the Arkansas Department of Correction.
Two sisters, ages 19 and 15 today, testified that
Sweeten inappropriately touched them and forced them to touch him while visiting at Sweeten’s home in Texarkana, Ark. The 15-yearold victim came forward in 2016 and described sexual abuse that occurred in 2015. After her younger sister came forward, the other victim, now 19, disclosed that Sweeten had touched her when she was about 6 in 2003 and 2004.
Sweeten testified Tuesday that he has been physically incapable of such conduct since 2002 or 2003 when his health deteriorated and his weight increased to more than 400 pounds, under questioning by Texarkana lawyer Jeff Harrelson. Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys Connie Mitchell and Kristian Robertson argued that Sweeten’s testimony was unbelievable and that the details provided by the victims proved their claims are authentic.
Mitchell and Robertson asked the jury to consider what bringing Sweeten to justice has cost the victims. Since the allegations surfaced, a close relationship the victims once enjoyed with Sweeten’s wife has ceased and the family has become divided.
“Why do this,” Mitchell asked the jury in closing remarks. “When they leave here they’ll have no more than when they came. The only thing they will get out of this is your guilty verdict.”
Mitchell said the jury’s verdict sends a powerful message.
“Two brave girls found their voice when they faced the defendant and told the jurors about the abuse they endured at his hands. He was sentenced to 60 years for his crimes. I hope this message reaches victims of sexual abuse to encourage them to come forward and report the abuse. I want them to know that they will be heard,” Mitchell said. “I also hope this message reaches sexual predators. They will be caught. They will be prosecuted. They will be punished.”