Monticello Live

In May, a Drew County Circuit Court jury of 5 men and 7 women only took 40 minutes to find a local man guilty of sexual indecency with a child and 2nd degree sexual assault.  He had been arrested on September 2, 2010.

The jury sentenced him to 24 years in prison for those crimes, which were committed against a 7 year old.  He was released on an appeal bond, pending this court decision.

Arthur Lee Newton, Jr., age 65 of Monticello filed an appeal on that verdict, which was recently heard by the ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS, DIVISION IV.

Judge Waymond Brown wrote this opinion of the Appeals Court affimation of Newton’s conviction.

Appellant Arthur Lee Newton, Jr. argued on appeal that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions because there was no evidence that his actions were motivated by the desire for sexual gratification. He also argued that the trial court erred by overruling his objection to a question that had already been asked and answered. 

Newton’s first argument on appeal was that the circuit court erred in denying his motion for directed verdict because there was insufficient evidence to support his convictions. 

He was also charged with rape; however, the court granted his motion for directed verdict as to the rape charge.

The evidence viewed in the light most favorable to the State shows the following: Newton, the victim’s grandfather, witnessed the victim and another juvenille in an inappropriate act.  In court, Newton stated that he took her to a nearby pond, to check her.  Newton conceded that he may have touched the victim while helping her remove her panties.

Judge Brown stated, “Here, the victim’s testimony was enough to support Newton’s convictions for both sexual indecency with a child and sexual assault in the second degree. Newton argues that he only evaluated the victim to ensure that she was not hurt as a result of what he had witnessed.”   “The jury was presented with both the victim’s and Newton’s account of what took place and chose to believe the victim. Accordingly, we affirm.”

Next, Newton argues that the trial court erred by overruling his objection to a question that he alleged had already been asked and answered. The trial court has wide discretion in making evidentiary rulings, and this court will not reverse those rulings absent an abuse of discretion.  The victim in this case was eight years old at the time she testified.  “Given the age of the victim  and the nature of the charges, we cannot say that the trial court abused its discretion in overruling Newton’s objection. Therefore, we affirm.”

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Local Man Sentenced to 24 Years for Sex Crimes against 7 Year Old
May 25, 2011

A Drew County Circuit Court jury of 5 men and 7 women only took 40 minutes to find a local man guilty of sexual indecency with a child and 2nd degree sexual assault.  They only needed 25 minutes to sentence him to 24 years in prison for those crimes.

Arthur Lee Newton, Jr., age 65 of Monticello was arrested  on September 2, 2010 for the crimes against a 7 year old.  The rape charge was dismissed by the court.

The deputy prosecutor, Frank Spain, called the victim and a nurse, among others, as witnesses.  He also provided a doll for the child to use to point to areas touched during the events that took place that day.

The possible maximum sentence was up to 6 years on the indecency charge, and 5-20 years on the sexual assault charge.  Newton could be released in 1/6 of that time.

The jury sentenced him to 6 years and 18 years, to run consecutively.  Judge Sam Pope approved the jury’s decision, sentencing him to a total of 24 years.  As he was being sentenced, Newton told the judge, “I never molested that child.”  “I did not do it.”

Before the trial ended, Newton’s lawyer, Gary Potts, asked that he be released on an appeal bond.  Judge Pope told Potts that if his trial bondsman would extend his bond to cover the appeal, the court would accept that.

As of Tuesday night, Newton remained in the Drew County Detention facility, awaiting bed space in the Arkansas Dept of Corrections.

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Rape added to Charges against Local Man
September 16, 2011

Arthur Lee Newton, Jr.of Monticello, was arrested by the Drew County Sheriff’s Dept., September 2, and charged with 2nd degree sexual assault, for events that occurred on August 16.

Documents  filed in the Drew County Circuit Clerk’s office by Prosecuting Attorney Thomas Deen, have updated the charges against Newton to include rape and sexual indecency with a child under the age of 14.

Newton’s bond set at $100,000.  He is being held at the Drew County Detention Facility.

The sentence for rape ranges from 25-40 years or life.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 26th, 2012 at 12:11 pm and is filed under Police /Legal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.