Shawn Eaton, who is charged with a number of offenses having to do with inappropriate contact with young girls and who was found mentally incapable of proceeding in his cases and committed to the custody of the Department of Human services in May, is back in the Baxter County Jail.Eaton now has been found fit to proceed and his cases placed back on active status. He is scheduled to appear before Circuit Judge Gordon Webb August 3rd.
Eaton was found not fit to proceed in early December last year, but sat in the Baxter County Jail until May 15th of this year when he was finally transferred to DHS custody. He was returned and booked into the jail shortly before 11:00 Wednesday evening.
In a letter on April 26th, Judge Webb told DHS officials the court had found the 20-year-old Eaton to be a “danger to himself or to the person or property of others” and, based on that finding, he could not be treated on an out-patient basis in the community. Judge Webb also noted “the county jail is not a treatment facility and not an appropriate place for him to reside”. It was shortly after Judge Webb’s letter, DHS took custody of Eaton.
Eaton faces charges of sexual indecency with a child and two counts of 2nd degree sexual assault. He was originally arrested in July last year after Mountain Home Police were called to the Donald W. Reynolds Library. The victim in that case was an 11-year-old female who told police a man, later identified as Eaton, came up to her in the library and touched her inappropriately. She told officers she pushed Eaton’s arm, and he stepped away a short distance and exposed himself.
There were other incidents afterward involving ten and 11-year-old girls.
Both of his cases were placed on inactive status while he was in the custody of DHS.
According to court records, in a guardianship case filed in late 2013, Eaton was described by a medical doctor as bipolar and a guardian was appointed due to his condition.
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