Rape charges have been dropped against a former Benton County assistant systems administrator, who lost his job in March after police said he raped a teenage girl.
Shawn Allen Scott, 32, had charges dropped against him by prosecutors. His arraignment was scheduled for Tuesday, according to court records.
Benton County Judge Bob Clinard had said when Scott was arrested that the information technology employee could seek to reinstate his employment if not found guilty in the case. Clinard said Tuesday that Scott so far has not asked for his job back. If he does, though, “we’ll talk about it,” Clinard said.
“He’s a good man, I think. He’s a great employee,” he said.
Scott was arrested March 25 on suspicion of felony rape and booked into the Benton County Jail. He was later released on $30,000 bond, according to the Bentonville Police Department. Following his arrest, Scott was forced to resign.
Police said Scott raped a girl three years ago when she was 13 years old. Scott was arrested following an investigation that included a taped phone call and an interview with the suspect and the alleged victim’s mother, according to the probable cause report.
Scott was an information technology employee with the county, meaning he helped county employees with technical issues that include computer work and security technology, Clinard said at the time.
Clinard said Scott was asked to resign following his arrest and threatened with termination if he did not quit. Scott’s termination would have come because of his inability to do his job with the county during the investigation, rather than directly because of the charges he was facing, Clinard said at the time.
The alleged victim told her mother Scott gave her wine and raped her on at least one occasion. The alleged victim said Scott also sexually assaulted her on at least one other occasion, although it is unclear how many alleged occurrences of sexual assault there may have been.
One of the instances occurred after the victim was upset in seventh grade over her relationship with a boy, police said. The girl noticed wine in Scott’s refrigerator and was given some by the suspect. He later touched her inappropriately, according to Bentonville police.
