top of page
Writer's pictureDennis McCaslin

Hackett man enters not guilty plea on sexual child abuse charges from over a decade ago





A 55-year-old Hackett man remains behind bars Sebastian County Detention Center after a plea and arrangement trial was held Wednesday morning in Sebastian County Circuit Court. 


According to information from court records, Jamie Leon Speaks entered a plea of not guilty to one count of Sexual Assault in the Second Degree with the victim being under the age of fourteen. Speaks, who is a registered sex offender, is also being charged as a Habitual Offender in the case.


According to the information supplied by the court, Speaks is accused of engaging in a sexual act involving a preteen  


The court information says Speaks committed criminal sexual assault on the child between the 21st day of August 2008 and the 21st day of August 2011.


Order of Protection (Redacted by TIFS)


That time frame coincides with civil lawsuits filed against the daycare where Speaks wife worked and where he was a frequent visitor. 


 The habitual offender charge could mean an extended time of imprisonment for Speaks if he's found guilty. 

Order of Protection (Redacted by TIFS)

An Order of Protection was also put into place on Wednesday. Speaks is to avoid approaching or communicating, directly or indirectly with the victim and her family and is also prevented from going to the residence, school, or place of employment of the parties involved. 


In addition should Speak's make his $100,000 bail requirement, he is to have no unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18. 


The paperwork for the order of protection, which is viewable on Arkansas Court Connect, identifies the child victim by her initials, the second time within a month the prosecutor's office seemingly has failed to fully protect the identity of an under-aged victim


Speaks also filed a statement of indigency and the court appointed the

Public defender's Office to act as his counsel.


Speaks, who resides in the 4900 block of Bowers Loop in Hackett, was arrested by the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office and booked into the local jail at 1:15 p.m. on Thursday.. July 11.


A trial has been set in front of the Honorable Gunner Delay on December 2, 2024. A plea agreement deadline of November 11 was floated by the prosecutors office at the hearing.


Speaks was involved in a 2003 case in which he was accused of abusive incidents at a preschool in Greenwood.  There are currently two civil cases still open and pending against Miss Tina's Preschool stemming from previous incidents.


Speaks is a registered sex offender who was previously convicted of Sexual

Solicitation/Indecency with a Child and Sexual Assault in the Second Degree in 2012. In that case, he was given a five-year suspended imposition of sentence and 24-months of probation.






127 views

Comentarios


bottom of page