Lowell man gets 25 years for sexually assaulting 2 girls

BENTONVILLE — A Lowell man avoided a jury trial by pleading guilty Tuesday just before the start of his trial to sexually abusing two girls.

Ralph Cosio, 57, pleaded guilty Tuesday to six counts of sexual assault, sexual indecency with a child and sexually grooming a child.

Benton County Circuit Judge Robin Green sentenced Cosio to 25 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections.

Cosio was arrested Nov. 15, 2021.

Lowell police started investigating after a friend of one of the girls reported to police her friend told her she had been sexually abused, according to a probable cause affidavit.

One of the girls told police Cosio was her abuser and she had written about the abuse in her journal, according to the affidavit. She told police she didn’t remember her exact age when the abuse started and provided details of the abuse, according to the affidavit.

She was also interviewed at the Children’s Advocacy Center and provided details of the abuse, according to the affidavit.

The other girl was also interviewed at the center, according to the affidavit.

One girl is now 16 years old and the other is 14 years old.

The younger girl read a victim impact statement in court. She told Cosio he violated her trust, and she ended up in mental hospitals, emergency rooms and on medications because of the trauma he inflicted on her.

She said she’s now moving forward with her life and will soon turn 15 and is a straight-A student.

“Before I leave this courtroom, I want to make it a point that on one hand I won’t forget what you have done to me, but instead I’ll use it to better myself and use it as a reminder that I am strong,” she said. “The cycle of mental, sexual, physical and emotional abuse ends here.”

Cosio