Royal man sentenced to 20 years in prison in sexual assault
A Royal man originally charged with rape was sentenced to 20 years in prison Monday on a reduced charge of first-degree sexual assault involving a 7-year-old girl over a period of two years.
Roy Neil Perry, 52, had pleaded no contest to the amended charge on April 10, but was formally sentenced Monday in Garland County Circuit Court, appearing before Judge John Homer Wright with his attorney, Gregory L. Vardaman, of Arkadelphia. He had been set to stand trial April 11 on the original rape charge.
Court costs and fees were expunged for time served since Perry was arrested Dec. 22, 2015, and initially held on $50,000 bond. Wright also issued an order permanently barring Perry from any contact with the victim.
In his plea, Perry basically indicated the state had sufficient evidence to prove the charge.
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Joe Graham said Monday this was a case where the child claimed it happened and Perry denied it and refused to plead guilty, but agreed to plead no contest because he didn’t want to risk going to trial.
“It would have been a difficult case,” Graham said, relying on the victim’s testimony. He said he visited with the victim’s grandmother, who is her guardian, and they discussed the negotiations and she agreed to the plea offer as long as Perry would serve at least five years in prison.
Graham said that, under the sentencing guidelines, Perry would have to serve five years or longer before he was eligible for parole. “I think it was a good plea bargain,” he said, since a conviction would not have been certain and “this way the child didn’t have to testify.”
According to the affidavit, on June 11, 2015, a report was forwarded to the Garland County Sheriff’s Department from the Arkansas State Police Child Abuse Hotline that alleged a
9-year-old girl had been sexually abused by a known suspect.
The victim was subsequently interviewed at the Cooper-Anthony Mercy Child Advocacy Center by forensic interviewer Tracy Childress, and reportedly disclosed she had been repeatedly molested by the victim since she was
7 years old. The incidents all reportedly occurred while she was at the suspect’s then residence in Pearcy.
She gave details of how he had raped her and molested her, sometimes while she was standing naked on a sink. She also said he forced her to touch his privates.
On June 19, 2015, Perry was brought in for questioning at the sheriff’s department and while he reportedly admitted to being alone with the victim from time to time, he denied the allegations of rape or sexual contact and claimed he could not have committed the offenses because he is impotent.
Investigators interviewed Perry’s girlfriend that same day, and she reportedly indicated they regularly engaged in sex and Perry was not impotent.
After further investigation, a warrant was issued for Perry’s arrest and he was taken into custody.