Miller County Man Sentenced To 80 Years For Child Sex Abuse

TEXARKANA, Ark. – A jury in Miller County on Tuesday convicted a Fouke, Ark., man of rape and sexual assault in connection with child sex abuse that occurred over a two-year period beginning in 2016.

Ryan Jacob Walls, 40, struggled with court security personnel attempting to cuff him after he was found guilty, according to police scanner radio traffic Tuesday afternoon. The victim, now 16, was approximately seven years old when she was first sexually abused by Walls, court records show. Walls had access to the victim because he was related to her by marriage.

The jury sentenced Walls to 40 years for rape and 20 years on each of two counts of second-degree sexual assault. Circuit Judge Carlton Jones ordered that the terms will run consecutively, giving Walls an 80-year sentence.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jeffery Sams told TXK Today on Tuesday that the victim was a strong and credible witness.

“It came out in her testimony that she felt ‘overlooked’ when she made a disclosure at age 7 about the abuse and nothing happened,” Sams said. “I asked them in my closing arguments not to overlook her this time, and their verdict shows that they did not.”

Sams said his office is grateful to the victim, her family, members of the Miller County Sheriff’s Office, the Texarkana Children’s Advocacy Center, and other witnesses who testified in the case. He also thanked the jury for their service.

Walls was initially arrested Sept. 19, 2025, and released on a $75,000 bond Sept. 23, 2025. He is now in Miller County custody awaiting transfer to the Arkansas Dept. of Corrections.

Sams and Prosecuting Attorney Connie Mitchell represented the state. Walls is represented by Jason Mitchell, managing public defender for Arkansas’ Eighth South Judicial District.