Two men, one from Fayetteville and another from West Fork, have been charged with having child porn, among other charges, according to a news release.
Scott Sholds, 31, of Fayetteville, appeared for an arraignment Wednesday morning (May 29) before Judge Erin Setser on charges of producing sexually explicit images of a minor, according to a news release from Conner Eldridge, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas.
In another recent case, Randy Bise, 51, of West Fork, appeared on separate charges of producing sexually explicit images of a minor, according to the release.
Both defendants were arrested by the Fayetteville Police Department.
U.S. Attorney Eldridge commented, “It is incomprehensible that someone would sexually abuse very small children. Such crimes are reprehensible and we must do everything in our power to both prevent abuse and prosecute those responsible to the fullest extent of the law.”
Public records state Sholds was arrested on April 15 by the Fayetteville Police Department on suspicion of raping and sexually assaulting an infant girl.
On May 7, a federal grand jury issued an indictment against Sholds charging him with four counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography, according to the release.
Public records also state that Bise was arrested on March 15 by the Fayetteville Police Department on suspicion of raping an approximately 8-year-old boy. Bise was formally charged by a federal grand jury with two counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
Both Bise and Sholds have their next trial dates scheduled for July, according to Eldridge.
“If convicted of producing child pornography, the defendants will face a mandatory minimum sentence of not less than fifteen years with a maximum sentence of thirty years per count. The counts on possession of child pornography carry a possible punishment of not more than twenty years in federal prison,” the release states.
