A 17-year-old is being charged as an adult in Miller County for the alleged sexual abuse of a 6-year-old girl.
Dequintis Lamar Bailey is facing a minimum of 25 years on each of four counts of rape involving a girl he regularly had access to in 2016 and 2017 at the home of a relative living in Texarkana, Ark., according to a probable cause affidavit. Bailey was 15 and 16 years of age at the time he allegedly raped the child on multiple occasions.
In Arkansas, individuals below the age of 18 accused of criminal conduct are typically considered juveniles and their cases are handled in juvenile court as prescribed by the state’s juvenile code. Prosecutors can petition the court to treat a juvenile as an adult when the alleged conduct warrants a more severe position toward punishment and the offender is nearing adulthood.
In June of this year, Bailey appeared in Miller County circuit court after being certified to face prosecution in the adult criminal justice system rather than juvenile court. Bail is set at $100,000.
According to a probable cause affidavit, the alleged victim’s mother received a call from a family member June 5, 2017, regarding an allegation her daughter made about Bailey. The mother took the girl to a Texarkana hospital for an examination and police were notified. The young girl gave a disturbing account of sexual abuse by Bailey during a discussion June 9, 2017, with a forensic interviewer at the Children’s Advocacy Center in Texarkana.
The girl allegedly told the forensic interviewer that Bailey, whom she knows as “Poo Poo,” repeatedly molested her at the home of a woman to whom they are both related and with whom both routinely visit. The girl allegedly described the abuse in detail using anatomically correct dolls.
“She was asked if he said anything to her while he was doing this and she advised he said, ‘Don’t tell nobody,'” the affidavit states.
The girl also told investigators that Bailey encouraged her to blame his misconduct on two other family members if anyone questioned her about it. The child’s detailed account included one instance where Bailey allegedly began by taking her to a bedroom and doing something on his cell phone before the inappropriate, illegal, alleged conduct began. The girl said the assault ended with the involvement of a cell phone too.
“The clock. It said stop,” the affidavit states.
Each of the four counts of rape with which Bailey is charged is punishable by 25 to 40 years or life in prison. Bailey is scheduled to appear Aug. 14 before Circuit Judge Kirk Johnson. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kristian Robertson is prosecuting the case.
