Post by KC on Aug 2, 2006 0:18:02 GMT -5
August 02, 2006 - BENTONVILLE — Officer Charlie Harp told a judge Thursday he’s ready for prison after his fall from grace as a longtime Gentry Police officer to a convicted sex offender.
“I’m stepping up to take my punishment” for having sex with a 16-year-old girl, Harp told Benton County Senior Circuit Judge Tom Keith.
Officer Harp, 39, pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault and accepted a 7-year prison sentence.
“The only reason there’s been any delay with this plea is I wanted to make sure my family was going to be well taken care of,” Harp told the judge. His wife and children now live in Florida near family. “That was my biggest concern.”
Harp was arrested in September and charged with having repeated sex with a girl he befriended and mentored when she was 16 and 17 years old.
Harp was a 10-year veteran of the Gentry Police Department and had supervised the criminal investigation division. The girl told authorities Harp began tutoring her after school in math and English about a year before, and she considered Harp a father figure.
The girl’s mother became suspicious of e-mail and instant messages her daughter exchanged with Harp, she told Gentry Police Chief Keith Smith. Smith turned the information over to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.
Harp admitted to many of the girl’s claims in an interview with Investigator Greg Hines, court documents said.
Harp’s sexual relationship with the girl wouldn’t be a crime except for his job. The charge, second-degree sexual assault, normally requires a victim be age 13 or younger.
But state law allows prosecutors to charge a person older than age 20 for having sex with someone 18 or younger who is under his or her care and control.
Other laws allow charges for persons older than age 20 who sexually victimize children age 15 or younger, said Shane Wilkinson, senior trial attorney with the Benton County prosecutor’s office.
Harp must serve at least 14 months before he’s eligible for parole. After his prison term, he’ll be under a suspended sentence for seven years.
His attorney, Joel Huggins, described him as a hardworking family man.
“This type of crime comes as a result of weakness in someone’s character,” Huggins told the judge. “I am confident it will never happen again. Charlie accepted full responsibility and was incredibly remorseful.”
www.nwaonline.net/articles/2006/08/01/news/0802bzharpplea.txt
“I’m stepping up to take my punishment” for having sex with a 16-year-old girl, Harp told Benton County Senior Circuit Judge Tom Keith.
Officer Harp, 39, pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault and accepted a 7-year prison sentence.
“The only reason there’s been any delay with this plea is I wanted to make sure my family was going to be well taken care of,” Harp told the judge. His wife and children now live in Florida near family. “That was my biggest concern.”
Harp was arrested in September and charged with having repeated sex with a girl he befriended and mentored when she was 16 and 17 years old.
Harp was a 10-year veteran of the Gentry Police Department and had supervised the criminal investigation division. The girl told authorities Harp began tutoring her after school in math and English about a year before, and she considered Harp a father figure.
The girl’s mother became suspicious of e-mail and instant messages her daughter exchanged with Harp, she told Gentry Police Chief Keith Smith. Smith turned the information over to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.
Harp admitted to many of the girl’s claims in an interview with Investigator Greg Hines, court documents said.
Harp’s sexual relationship with the girl wouldn’t be a crime except for his job. The charge, second-degree sexual assault, normally requires a victim be age 13 or younger.
But state law allows prosecutors to charge a person older than age 20 for having sex with someone 18 or younger who is under his or her care and control.
Other laws allow charges for persons older than age 20 who sexually victimize children age 15 or younger, said Shane Wilkinson, senior trial attorney with the Benton County prosecutor’s office.
Harp must serve at least 14 months before he’s eligible for parole. After his prison term, he’ll be under a suspended sentence for seven years.
His attorney, Joel Huggins, described him as a hardworking family man.
“This type of crime comes as a result of weakness in someone’s character,” Huggins told the judge. “I am confident it will never happen again. Charlie accepted full responsibility and was incredibly remorseful.”
www.nwaonline.net/articles/2006/08/01/news/0802bzharpplea.txt