A Gamaliel man initially charged with the rape of a 14-year-old female pled guilty to a reduced charge of sexual indecency with a child during a recent session of Baxter County Circuit Court.
Thirty-three-year-old Jesse Aaron Avant was sentenced to six years probation. Avant was already a registered sex offender stemming from a conviction in Texas.
According to court records, the case has been continued 13 times since it was originally filed in mid-January 2021.
It was continued four times in 2021, five times in 2022, and four times this year.
The multiple continuances have been requested by the defense mainly because Avant was ordered to be examined psychologically to determine if he was fit to proceed in his case and could be held criminally responsible for his acts.
The defense motion for the examinations was approved in early December 2021 and court records indicate the examination was not done until October 21, 2022.
Avant was found fit to proceed and capable of being held responsible for his acts.
INITIAL REPORT
On Dec. 22, 2020, a report was filed with the Mountain Home Police Department in which the victim claimed to have had sex with Avant.
The victim has consistently claimed the acts were consensual.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Avant, who lives in the Gamaliel area, had been at a relative’s residence in Mountain Home when the alleged incident occurred.
The victim in the Baxter County case is said to have reported she had contact with Avant through various social media platforms.
She told investigators she sent nude photos of herself to Avant on one of the platforms. When interviewed, Avant is alleged to have admitted to the sexual contact and to receiving a nude photo of the victim which he said he had deleted.
Avant was required to register as a sex offender after receiving an order of “deferred adjudication” for aggravated sexual assault of a child in February 2012 in Texas. According to information in the sex offender registry, Avant was reported to have engaged in forced sexual contact with the 13-year-old sister of a friend.
His sex offender history will be updated to reflect information regarding the Baxter County case.
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