A man is being sought for the rape of a minor in Izard County. An arrest warrant has been issued for 39-year-old Jeremiah Coffer on one felony count each of rape and first-degree sexual assault and four felony counts of second-degree sexual assault.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the Izard County Sheriff’s Office was notified April 13 by the Arkansas State Police’s Child Abuse Hotline of an alleged sexual assault. Investigators from Izard County and the Arkansas State Police’s Crimes Against Children Division interviewed the victim. Coffer was accused of inappropriate sexual contact with the victim on five separate occasions between January 1 of last year and April 11 of this year.
The next day, the investigators interviewed Coffer at the sheriff’s office. He reportedly spoke with the investigators for a brief period of time before his defense attorney arrived and stopped the interview. The attorney was reportedly hired unbeknownst to Coffer by his mother.
The rape charge is a Class Y felony, the most serious classification of crime in Arkansas not punishable by death. When captured, his bond will be set at $300,000.
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