Local man found guilty in 2014 sexual assault

A six-man, six-woman Garland County Circuit Court jury deliberated for less than 30 minutes Thursday before finding a local man guilty of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in 2014 after a one-day trial.

The sentencing portion of the trial began shortly after 4:30 p.m. Thursday and was still underway at presstime.

Fredrick Bruce Barfield, 42, was arrested Feb. 17, 2016, on a felony charge of second-degree sexual assault, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, stemming from his assault of the victim in November 2014 after an investigation by Hot Springs police and the Arkansas State Police Crimes Against Children Division.

According to the probable cause affidavit, on Nov. 18, 2014, the victim was interviewed at the Cooper Anthony Mercy Child Advocacy Center. She stated that, on Nov. 15 at a residence in Garland County, she and Barfield were sitting in the living room when Barfield began touching her chest underneath her clothing while holding her down.

Barfield was interviewed on Feb. 3, 2015, at Arkansas State Police Troop K headquarters and reportedly admitted he did touch the victim “to teach her a lesson, so she would know what it’s like to have to say no.”

Barfield was initially held on

$10,000 bond after his arrest and pleaded not guilty to the charge on April 5, 2016. The bond was later reduced to $5,000 and he was released on May 3, 2016.

At a hearing on March 1,

2017, Barfield’s attorney, public defender Tim Beckham, filed a motion for a mental evaluation to determine if Barfield was fit to proceed with trial, which was granted, postponing further court proceedings.

On May 9, 2016, Beckham accepted the findings of the evaluation conducted at the state hospital which found Barfield was fit to proceed and a trial was later

scheduled for Oct. 23, 2017. The trial was later continued several times due to conflicts with other court proceedings and was finally set for Thursday.

Jurors heard testimony from the victim, her mother and investigators on Thursday. Barfield did not testify.