A Gassville man was found guilty on three counts of rape during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court which started at 9 a.m. Friday and ended shortly after 2 a.m. Saturday.
Thirty-eight-year-old Bradley Uren was sentenced to 120 years in prison.
The jury hearing the case deliberated for about two hours before arriving at the guilty verdict.
In the sentencing phase of the trial, the state pushed for a prison sentence of 40 years on each of the three counts and asked that the sentence be consecutive meaning each of the three 40 year sentences would be stacked. The jury went with the state.
Retired Circuit Court Judge Gordon Webb who heard the case on assignment from the Arkansas Supreme Court accepted the jury’s recommendation and formally sentenced Uren.
Before the jury retired to deliberate Uren’s sentence, Deputy Prosecutor John Russo said Uren “has committed the ultimate betrayal of trust” by raping his own daughters.
Uren’s attorney, Anthony Pirani of Fayetteville, asked that his client be sentenced to 25 years in prison. He said if Uren got 25 years, “it’s certainly no slap on the hand. He will never have contact with his children again, never have a chance to put his life back together and will likely be more than 60-years old before he comes out.”
Uren was given a chance to make a statement before the court pronounced sentence, but declined to do so.
Prosecutors provided the jury with documents concerning an incident in Hamilton County, Tennessee in 2005 to examine during deliberations on Bradley Uren’s sentence. He was 18-years-old when convicted of sexual battery. Uren was accused of luring a 14-year-old girl to his residence where he forced her to remove her clothing at knifepoint. He is required to register as a sex offender during his lifetime, according to court documents.
Bradley Uren and his now ex-wife, 39-year-old Jennifer Uren-Helton, were arrested in early 2020. He was charged with three counts of rape and his wife with two counts of permitting child abuse.
The victims were two of the couple’s young daughters. One of the victims testified Thursday and told the jury what her father had done to her. The victim sat in the space normally occupied by the court reporter so she could be heard by jurors.
The now 14-year-old who is in the eighth grade said she had told her half-brother who lived in Tennessee about what had happened to her and, according to testimony, he was the one who tipped law enforcement.
The victim was asked if her mother, Jennifer Uren-Helton, had done anything about the alleged abuse after being told about it. The young girl said her mother was afraid of Bradley Uren and “scared to tell on him.” Jennifer Uren-Helton testified she had been physically abused by her ex-husband, including suffering a dislocated shoulder. She told the court Bradley Uren had also shot her in the chest with a BB gun.
Bradley Uren’s ex-wife said after information began to come out about what had happened between her husband and the couple’s two daughters, the family was going to keep an appointment at Grandma’s House, a Child Advocacy Center. She said her husband told her before they went it, “keep your damn mouth shut.”
The young victim who testified Thursday had to stop speaking at times after being overcome with emotion. The victim was asked why she had decided to break her silence and replied, “Because I was tired of lying and tired of him doing this to me.”
The victim, her older sister and teenage brother were removed from the Uren home in Gassville by the Arkansas Department of Human Services and placed with their maternal grandparents in Tennessee. The victim was asked if she was happy living with her relatives and she said in a loud, strong voice that she was and “would love to stay over there.”
When the victim answered the question about how happy she was in her new living arrangements, Bradley Uren buried his face in his hands and wept.
During her testimony when the victim mentioned her father, she used his first name only.
NO LOVE LOST
In questioning the girl, Pirani asked a number of questions concerning the relationship that family members had with one another. According to testimony, the half-brother who tipped police to the alleged sexual activity between Bradley Uren and his daughters and lives in Tennessee is the biological son of Jennifer Uren-Helton. According to statements made in court, Jennifer Uren-Helton is reported to have left the father of the half-brother and the teen for Bradley Uren and that both father and the half-brother have animosity toward Bradley Uren.
At several points in the trial, Pirani indicated there was more to the situation than information in court documents showed. He asked a number of questions about family members both in Arkansas and Tennessee, centering around the attitude they had toward Bradley Uren.
In a petition filed by Bradley Uren seeking an order of protection to keep Jennifer Uren-Helton away from him, he alleged there was a “conspiracy” to “get me out of the picture.” He contended in the petition that Jennifer Uren had talked about selling one of their daughters to her parents for $10,000. When she was on the stand Jennifer Uren-Helton denied any such sale had ever been considered.
She said her parents had loaned her $10,000 at one point to pay off student loans, not to buy a child.
SECOND VICTIM TAKES STAND
The second victim who is now 16-year-old took the stand Friday morning.
She said her father had sexually assaulted her. She said during one encounter, he had told her that the reason they were engaging in such activities was, “to teach me how to treat a man.”
The victim who now lives with her maternal grandparents in Tennessee said she had told her mother about the encounters and that the mother would argue with Bradley Uren about it, but a report to law enforcement was not made for some time. She testified the activity started when she was in the 3rd grade.
She said she “knew what we were doing was wrong,” but had been afraid to push for a report to be made to law enforcement because she was afraid of Bradley Uren and concerned that he would hurt every member of the family.
Defense attorney Pirani asked a number of questions seemingly aimed at showing that the young girl had been influenced by family members or other adults to claim her father had inappropriate sexual contact with her. The victim said various adults, both inside and outside the family, had spoken to her but they had not pushed her to make a false claim. She said they had told her only to “tell the truth, to be truthful.”
In his closing arguments to the jury, Russo said Uren’s defense attorney had painted a picture of unnamed forces, both inside and outside the family, creating the situation that had ended with Bradley Uren in jail, facing prison. The deputy prosecutor told the jury the situation Bradley Uren was in was of his own making. He said Pirani’s theme during the trial was “everybody is lying but Bradley, everybody is at fault but Bradley, everyone is against Bradley.”
Pirani characterized the investigation into the case involving his client, “about as sloppy as it gets, items of evidence were lost and people who could have shed light on this situation were not talked to or called to testify.”
Jennifer Uren-Helton’s permitting child abuse case is still open. Her next appearance in circuit court is set for September 25.
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