Little Rock Sexual Assault And Rape Defense Lawyer
Last updated on October 24, 2026
Rape is a Class Y felony in Arkansas, ordinarily punishable by 10 to 40 years or life in prison. A rape conviction involving a child under 14 can carry a 25-year minimum, and an adult convicted of raping a child under 14 by forcible compulsion faces mandatory life without parole under the applicable sentencing law. Sexual assault charges cover other conduct, with penalties ranging from a misdemeanor to a Class A felony.
If you’re accused of rape or sexual assault in Little Rock or Central Arkansas, the precise charge matters. So do the alleged conduct, both people’s ages, the offense date, and the evidence behind the accusation. At Wesley Rhodes, Attorney at Law, Wesley Rhodes has practiced criminal defense since 2016. He works directly with clients to evaluate the allegation, the evidence, and their options. For other sex-related offenses, see our sex crimes defense overview.
Different Charges, Different Proof
Penetration, sexual contact, force, incapacity, age, and a position of authority are not interchangeable legal elements.
Sentencing Can Change Sharply
A child’s age, forcible compulsion, and the offense date can determine whether the law requires decades in prison or life without parole.
Evidence Beyond The Allegation
Messages, recordings, medical findings, prior statements, and a verifiable timeline can establish what happened and what the State can prove.
If Police Want Your Side Of The Story
Talk to a criminal defense lawyer before an interview, polygraph, or voluntary phone search. Don’t contact the accuser to apologize or explain, and follow every no-contact order already in place. Preserve messages, photos, call records, and location history without editing or deleting them. These records may be important if accounts or dates are disputed. See what to do when police want to question you.
What Arkansas Must Prove
Arkansas divides these offenses by the act alleged and the circumstances. Sexual intercourse and deviate sexual activity require forms of penetration defined by statute, however slight. Sexual contact generally involves touching specified intimate areas, directly or through clothing, for sexual gratification; its definition also includes certain other conduct. Forcible compulsion means physical force or an express or implied threat of death, physical injury, or kidnapping. The State must prove the charged elements beyond a reasonable doubt.
Ark. Code §§ 5-14-101, 5-1-111(a).
Rape: § 5-14-103
Intercourse or deviate sexual activity through forcible compulsion; with someone statutorily incapable of consent; with a child under 14; or with a minor when the actor is a guardian or certain specified relatives.
Capital Rape: § 5-14-114
For conduct on or after August 5, 2025: specified sexual acts with a child 13 or younger, plus a qualifying injury or threat, deadly weapon, listed felony, or prior child-rape conviction.
First-Degree Sexual Assault: § 5-14-124
Intercourse or deviate sexual activity involving a minor and specified custodial, supervisory, school, or caretaker relationships; a separate provision covers certain K-12 school staff and students under 21.
Second-Degree Sexual Assault: § 5-14-125
Sexual contact by force or with a person statutorily incapable of consent; contact by an adult with a child under 14; or conduct involving specified trust or custodial relationships. A minor-actor provision carries a lower felony class.
Third-Degree Sexual Assault: § 5-14-126
Intercourse or deviate sexual activity involving certain custodial, supervisory, or trust relationships; or the separate provision for a minor who engages in the defined activity with a child under 14.
Fourth-Degree Sexual Assault: § 5-14-127
An actor 20 or older with someone under 16 who is not the actor’s spouse, or specified custodial-employee sexual contact. Whether the allegation is intercourse or contact changes the offense class.
Age, Consent, And Close-In-Age Defenses
“The age of consent is 16” is not a complete statement of Arkansas law. A separate provision may apply because someone was under 14, under 18, a student under 21, or in a relationship of trust. Some age-based offenses do not require proof of force, and consent does not defeat those statutory charges.
| Situation | What Changes Legally |
|---|---|
| Intercourse or deviate sexual activity with a child under 14 | The age-based offense is rape, subject to a three-year close-in-age affirmative defense. The ordinary child-rape minimum is 25 years; an offender 18 or older who commits rape by forcible compulsion against a child under 14 instead faces mandatory life without parole. Capital rape is a separate charge for qualifying conduct on or after August 5, 2025. |
| Sexual contact with a child under 14 | An actor 18 or older faces second-degree sexual assault. A minor actor can face a Class D felony, subject to a specified close-in-age affirmative defense: no more than three years older if the child is under 12, or four years older if the child is 12 or 13. |
| Person 14 or 15; accused 20 or older | Intercourse or deviate sexual activity can be felony fourth-degree sexual assault; sexual contact alone can be a Class A misdemeanor, when the statutory nonspouse condition is met. Other charges can apply if force or a position of trust is involved. |
| Minor with a guardian, specified relative, or person in authority | The relationship can support rape or first-degree sexual assault even without forcible compulsion. A teacher, principal, coach, or counselor using a position of authority with a student under 21 at the employing K-12 school can face first-degree sexual assault. |
Ark. Code §§ 5-14-102, 5-14-103(a), (c), 5-14-124, 5-14-125, 5-14-127, 5-4-104(c)(2); Act 662 of 2025.
An affirmative defense must be proved by the accused by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning more likely true than not. Mistake about age is limited too: if the crime depends on a child being under 14 and the actor is 20 or older, even a reasonable mistake is no defense. For an actor under 20, a reasonable belief that the child was at least 14 may be an affirmative defense. Different rules apply when the critical age is higher than 14. A reasonable belief that an adult was capable of consent can be an affirmative defense to certain mental-incapacity allegations.
Ark. Code §§ 5-14-102(b)-(e), 5-1-111(d). Individual close-in-age provisions have different conditions; a small age gap is not a universal defense.
Prison Sentences And Release Restrictions
The chart shows ordinary adult ranges before applicable habitual-offender enhancements and other sentencing rules. Capital rape, the 25-year child-rape minimum, and mandatory life without parole are separate sentencing provisions. The law governing the offense date controls.
| Charge | Ordinary Sentence And Critical Exception |
|---|---|
| Capital rape Ark. Code § 5-14-114 |
Offender 18 or older: The Arkansas statute specifies death or life without parole, but binding U.S. Supreme Court precedent bars death for child rape that did not result in, and was not intended to result in, death. The statute provides life without parole if the death provision is unconstitutional. Offender under 18: life with parole eligibility after at least 20 years, not automatic release. This offense was created effective August 5, 2025. |
| Rape Ark. Code §§ 5-14-103, 5-4-104 |
Class Y: 10 to 40 years or life. When the victim was under 14, generally a 25-year minimum; when the offender was 18 or older and the under-14 rape involved forcible compulsion, mandatory life without parole. Separate youth-at-offense release rules apply. |
| First-degree sexual assault Ark. Code § 5-14-124 |
Class A felony: 6 to 30 years. On the 85% restricted-release list for qualifying offenses committed on or after January 1, 2025; a qualifying prior conviction can require 100%. |
| Second-degree sexual assault Ark. Code § 5-14-125 |
Class B felony: 5 to 20 years. When committed by a minor against a child under 14 under the separate provision, Class D: up to 6 years. Not automatically on the 100% or 85% lists. |
| Third-degree sexual assault Ark. Code § 5-14-126 |
Class C felony: 3 to 10 years. Not automatically on the 100% or 85% lists. |
| Fourth-degree sexual assault Ark. Code § 5-14-127 |
Class D felony: up to 6 years for specified intercourse/deviate activity or custodial sexual contact; Class A misdemeanor: up to one year for the age-based sexual-contact provision. |
Ark. Code §§ 5-4-104(c)(2), 5-4-401, 5-14-103, 5-14-114, 5-14-124 to -127, 16-93-1802; Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U.S. 407 (2008). Additional punishments, prior-conviction enhancements, and age-at-offense exceptions may change the result.
What The Capital-Rape Death-Penalty Provision Actually Means
Act 662 of 2025 created capital rape. Arkansas lists the death penalty for an adult offender, but the U.S. Supreme Court’s controlling decision in Kennedy v. Louisiana prohibits a death sentence for the covered nonhomicide child-rape circumstances. That constitutional protection is binding, not merely a disagreement between courts. Arkansas’s own statute provides life without parole if its death-penalty provision is held unconstitutional. The separate provision for someone younger than 18 at the offense calls for parole eligibility after at least 20 years, not an adult mandatory-life-without-parole sentence.
Ark. Code §§ 5-14-114(b), 16-93-621(a)(1); Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U.S. 407 (2008); Act 662 of 2025.
Rape And Parole: 2024 Is Not The Same As 2025
For an adult convicted of rape committed on or after January 1, 2025, rape is on the statutory 100% list: a term-of-years prison sentence ordinarily must be fully served. But the no-parole rule also reaches rape committed during 2024 under a separate law, § 16-93-609(d). For older rape offenses, the former 70% framework may apply, and qualifying prior violent or sex offenses may bar parole entirely. You cannot calculate release eligibility from the sentencing date alone. See Arkansas parole eligibility and the Protect Arkansas Act.
Someone who was under 18 when the offense occurred has a separate release-eligibility statute. For an offense in which no death occurred, eligibility must arise no later than after 20 years of incarceration, including enhancements and multiple sentences, unless another rule permits it earlier. Eligibility is not a guarantee of release. For a qualifying adult term-of-years sentence below the statutory maximum, additional court-imposed post-release supervision can also apply even when the full prison term must be served.
Ark. Code §§ 5-4-104(c)(1)(C), 16-93-609(a)-(b), (d), 16-93-618, 16-93-621, 16-93-1802 to -1804.
Registration, Sealing, And Long-Term Consequences
Convictions for rape, capital rape, and all four degrees of sexual assault fall within Arkansas’s sex-offender registration statute. Registration duration is not decided only by the felony class or the label “sex crime.” Section 12-12-919 requires lifetime registration in specified circumstances, including:
- A conviction for rape by forcible compulsion or capital rape, or a finding of an aggravated sex offense.
- A Level 4 sexually dangerous person designation; a second sex-offense conviction under a separate case number; or an offender who was over 24 at the time of an offense against a victim under 15.
- Three or more guilty or no-contest pleas or findings of guilt for violations of the registration or reporting law, § 12-12-904. Three alleged reporting mistakes alone do not establish this lifetime category.
Ark. Code §§ 12-12-903(13), 12-12-919(a).
An offender outside the statutory lifetime categories may apply to the sentencing court for termination 15 years after first registering in Arkansas. If the offender was incarcerated in a correctional facility, the statutory starting point is registration upon release, not an earlier booking or out-of-state registration date. The applicant must also prove by a preponderance of the evidence both a qualifying 15-year period without a new sex-offense adjudication after release or placement under supervision and that the applicant is unlikely to threaten others’ safety. A hearing and court order are required; time alone does not end registration. A denied petition generally cannot be refiled for three years.
Ark. Code § 12-12-919(b)-(c). Different filing provisions apply to persons convicted in another state who permanently reside in Arkansas.
Felony sex-offense convictions are ineligible for sealing under the general conviction-sealing statute. A misdemeanor fourth-degree sexual assault conviction may be eligible for sealing after five years from completing the sentence, including required payments, but an order to seal a criminal record and an order ending registration are separate matters. See sealing a criminal conviction in Arkansas.
Ark. Code §§ 16-90-1405(a)-(b), 16-90-1408(a)(4); 12-12-919.
How Far Back Can An Allegation Be Prosecuted?
A late accusation is not automatically time-barred. Arkansas’s limitation periods depend on the offense, the age of the alleged victim, the date the conduct occurred, and statutory exceptions:
| Allegation | Current General Rule |
|---|---|
| Capital rape; rape involving a minor; first-degree sexual assault; second-degree sexual assault involving a minor | No ordinary prosecution time limit under the current statute. |
| Rape involving an adult | Ordinarily six years, but the limitation is eliminated when qualifying biological evidence capable of producing a DNA profile of the alleged perpetrator is identified; other statutory provisions can matter. |
| Unreported third- or fourth-degree sexual assault against a minor | A specified extension can allow filing before the alleged victim turns 28; reporting history and the law applicable to the offense must be checked. |
| Other Class B, C, or D felonies | Ordinarily three years, subject to relevant tolling and exceptions. |
Ark. Code § 5-1-109. Historical allegations require checking when the governing limitations law changed and whether a prosecution was timely commenced.
Evidence And Defenses That Matter
Arkansas appellate courts have repeatedly held that a complainant’s uncorroborated testimony can be legally sufficient to support a rape conviction. There is no blanket rule requiring DNA, injury, an eyewitness, or a contemporaneous report. The defense must evaluate what the witness actually says, what the charged statute requires, and whether other evidence supports or contradicts the account.
Davidson v. State, 2026 Ark. App. 295; Brown v. State, 374 Ark. 341 (2008).
Consent And Capacity
For an adult forcible-compulsion allegation, distinguish mutual conduct from force or a statutory threat. For incapacity, compare the evidence with Arkansas’s definitions: unconsciousness, inability to communicate lack of consent, or specified mental conditions. Being intoxicated alone does not establish every statutory element.
What The Physical Evidence Shows
Review examination notes, collection times, DNA mixtures, testing limitations, and chain of custody. DNA may show contact without proving force. No injury or no recovered DNA doesn’t by itself establish consent or innocence.
Statements And Timeline
Compare recordings and prior statements with messages, work or travel records, photographs, and the timing of events. An inconsistency matters when it bears on a disputed element or credibility, not just because two descriptions use different words.
Child Interviews
Secure full forensic-interview recordings and any earlier disclosures. The wording of questions, later interviews, and possible outside influence can matter; a child witness’s account is not automatically excluded because an interviewer made a mistake.
Phone Searches And Statements
Examine warrant scope, consent, interrogation conditions, and how digital material was obtained. A violation may support suppression, but it does not automatically dismiss the charge. See cell-phone search rules.
The Actual Age And Relationship
Birth records, school enrollment, custodial roles, employment dates, and communications can resolve whether a critical age line, legal relationship, or close-in-age affirmative defense applies.
Ark. Code §§ 5-14-101 to -103, 5-14-124 to -127; U.S. Const. amend. IV; Ark. R. Crim. P. 16.2.
Arkansas’s Rape-Shield Rule Limits Prior-Sexual-Conduct Evidence
A past sexual relationship does not automatically let the defense ask the accuser about prior sexual conduct at trial. Section 16-42-101 generally bars that evidence. A written defense motion and a private, in camera hearing are required for the statutory exception; the judge must find the evidence relevant to a fact in issue and more probative than prejudicial. In State v. Nichols (2026), the Arkansas Supreme Court rejected admission of an accused person’s uncorroborated claim of a prior sexual relationship. Save any independent proof of past contact for counsel; don’t assume a prior relationship by itself proves consent on the charged occasion.
Ark. Code § 16-42-101; State v. Nichols, 2026 Ark. 39. See what the prosecutor must disclose and how an Arkansas jury trial works.
What To Do After An Allegation Or Arrest
- Preserve the original communications. Keep complete message threads, media, emails, call logs, and backups. Original timestamps and context can matter as much as a single screenshot.
- Do not investigate by confronting the accuser. Have counsel identify witnesses and obtain records. Contact may violate an order, produce recorded statements, or create a separate allegation.
- Check the exact conditions of release. A criminal no-contact condition and a civil order of protection are separate legal matters. Do not assume the accuser can authorize contact or remove either order. See how no-contact orders can be modified.
- Bring the charging papers and the relevant dates. The alleged offense date, ages at that time, bond order, and exact statutory subsection determine the legal elements, sentencing exposure, and deadlines.
- Seek advice before voluntary questioning or a polygraph. Trying to correct a misunderstanding without knowing the evidence can produce statements used against you. See polygraphs in Arkansas.
Why Work With Wesley Rhodes?
Criminal Defense Since 2016
Wesley Rhodes represents people accused of criminal offenses in Central Arkansas. You work directly with the attorney handling your case.
Local Court Experience
Experience with criminal procedures in Little Rock and courts throughout Pulaski, Faulkner, Saline, and surrounding counties.
Related Guides
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Investigation And Court
Accused Of Rape Or Sexual Assault In Arkansas?
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For help responding to rape or sexual assault allegations in Little Rock, North Little Rock, Conway, Benton, or elsewhere in Central Arkansas, call 501-301-4591 or contact us online for a free consultation.
This page reflects Arkansas law as of October 2026. It is general information, not legal advice about your specific case.