Rogers man gets 25-year sentence for sexual assault

BENTONVILLE — A Rogers man was sentenced to 25 years in prison after admitting to sexually assaulting a girl.

James Fondren, 51, pleaded guilty Thursday to sexual assault. The plea was under an agreement Ray Spruell, Fond re n’ s attorney, reached with

Tim McDonald, deputy prosecutor.

Rogers police started investigating in December 2021 after a woman reported Fondren had sexually abused her as a child. She said the abuse took place when she was 13 to 17 years old, according to court documents.

Fondren admitted to police to engaging in sex acts with the woman when she was a teen, according to court documents. Fondren said the acts were consensual and the girl was 16 years old, according to court documents.

McDonald read a victim impact statement on behalf of the woman. She said the crimes committed against her had a major impact on her life and she has been in therapy since she was 18 years old.

She said in her statement she struggles trusting men and feels extremely uncomfortable while alone with a man.

“I wish I could snap my fingers and forget everything that happened and not allow it to affect me, but as hard as I’ve tried, I have no control over that and it still affects me every single day,” McDonald read.

Benton County Circuit Judge Robin Green followed the terms of the plea agreement and sentenced Fondren to 25 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections.

Fondren will be required to register as a sex offender.

He was ordered not to have any contact with the woman. Green also ordered him not to have any unsupervised contact with any minors.

Fondren