Bail set at $500,000 for suspect in rape, kidnapping of 15-year-old

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Bail has been set at $500,000 for a man accused of rape, kidnapping and other crimes involving a 15-year-old girl.

David Aaron Love, 24, allegedly broke into the home of the girl on the morning of Sept. 1. The girl’s parents were at work, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Love allegedly attacked the girl after breaking into her house on Pecan Street in Texarkana, Arkansas. The girl reported that Love attacked her as she walked back into her bedroom following a trip to the bathroom. Love allegedly choked the girl and put a jacket over her head as he sexually assaulted her.

Love allegedly tied the girl up and forced her into her parents’ 2004 Ford Explorer. Love is accused of tying the girl to the inside of the car and making her wear sunglasses and a face mask as he drove around. The girl allegedly reported that Love drove back to her house and left her in the car as he walked to rear of her family’s home.

While Love was away, the girl managed to free herself and run to a neighbor’s home for help. Love fled in the stolen Explorer. He was arrested the following day in Sevier County, Arkansas, and is now being held in the Miller County jail.

Bowie County court records show Love was placed on a one-year misdemeanor probation Aug. 28 for a domestic violence assault. He also pleaded guilty to interference with an emergency call. Love was released from the Bowie County jail Aug. 28 and allegedly assaulted the teen girl in Miller County a few days later Sept. 1.

Love was sentenced to five years in prison in 2015 for attempted robbery in Bowie County. He was charged with sexual assault in 2014 for attacking a jogger at Spring Lake Park. The charge was reduced to attempted robbery as part of a plea bargain. Love was released from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in September 2019, according to Bowie County district court records.

Love is charged with rape, kidnapping, residential burglary and theft of property in Miller County. He faces up to life in prison.

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