Ex-minister gets court date on sex charges

BENTONVILLE — A former youth minister is scheduled to stand trial in March on sex crime charges involving four children.

Keenan Hord, 32, of Centerton is charged with eight counts of sexual assault, three counts of distributing, possessing or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, and sexual indecency with a child. He has pleaded innocent to the charges.

Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren scheduled Hord’s jury trial to begin March 7.

Hord worked for First Baptist Church in Bentonville. He was arrested Aug. 24 and is being held on a $500,000 cash only bond in the Benton County jail.

Bentonville police received a tip related to the case through the Arkansas State Police child abuse hotline Aug. 19, according to a news release.

James Boothman, a Bentonville detective, testified at Hord’s August bond hearing police served a search warrant and seized several electronic devices. Boothman said police had spoken to six victims and identified up to 30 possible victims through an examination of Hord’s cellphone.

Bentonville police Sgt. Josh Woodhams testified at the bond hearing he examined a cellphone belonging to one of the boys that revealed a romantic and sexual relationship between Hord and the boy. He said there were 5,000 conversations on the phone between Hord and the boy. Woodhams said police located a half-million text messages on the phone. As many as 30 boys had conversations with Hord, Woodhams said.

Hord could be sentenced up to 216 years in prison if convicted on each of the charges.