Local man sentenced to 25 years
A Hot Springs man was sentenced to 25 years in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty in Garland
County Circuit
Court to having sexual relations with girls aged 12 and 14 last year.
Laquaveon Germain Haywood, 20, who has remained in custody on zero bond since his first arrest Sept. 27, 2017, pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and was sentenced to 25 years in prison on each count, and to two felony counts of sexual indecency with a child and was sentenced to six years on each count, all to run concurrently.
An additional felony charge of failure to register as a sex offender and a misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor were withdrawn as part of the plea deal. A permanent court order barring Haywood from any future contact with either of the victims was also issued.
Deputy Prosecutor Kara Petro said Tuesday the plea deal was approved by the guardians of both victims to avoid either victim having to testify at trial.
According to the probable cause affidavit for the rape charges, on Nov. 2, 2017, Detective Kenny May was notified of sexual offenses involving a juvenile female and Haywood.
On Nov. 3, the juvenile’s mother reported that her daughter had told her she was involved in a sexual relationship with Haywood. The sexual offenses began in the summer of 2017 and continued until September. At the time of the offense, the juvenile was 12 years old and Haywood was 19.
In an interview on Nov. 6 at the Cooper Anthony Mercy Child Advocacy Center, the juvenile disclosed she and Haywood engaged in intercourse on multiple occasions, the last time being just days prior to his arrest.
According to the juvenile’s statement, she would sneak out of her house and meet Haywood at a church on Mount Tabor Road. She reported that the two of them had “normal sex” which involved kissing and sexual intercourse.
The first incident reportedly happened in July at Haywood’s residence involving sexual intercourse and oral sex.
She also stated Haywood allowed her to stay at his residence during the summer when she had run away from home, and purchased about 5 grams of marijuana to smoke a “blunt” with her.
On Nov. 29, May interviewed Haywood at the detention center and he admitted to having sex with the juvenile but denied knowing her age at the time they had sex.
The sexual indecency charges involved a 14-year-old girl Haywood had sex with multiple times between July and August 2017.
According to the affidavit on the failure to register charge, Haywood was required to register as a sex offender on Jan. 23, 2015, following a rape trial in Garland County Juvenile Court. Under Arkansas law, a juvenile sex offender is required to register for 10 years from the date of his conviction or until he turns 21. Since 10 years had not passed and Haywood had yet to turn 21 years of age, he was still required to register but had failed to do so since February 2015.