FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM)- Two Northwest Arkansas men have been sentenced on child pornography charges involving a two-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy, according to U.S. Attorney Conner Eldridge.
Scott Sholds, 32, of Fayetteville was sentenced to 80 years in prison without the possibility of parole.
According to court records, on April 15, the Fayetteville Police Department was notified Sholds was in unlawful possession of a cell phone on which they found videos and images of Sholds performing sexual acts on a two-year-old girl. In May, Sholds was charged with four counts of production of child pornography and one count of knowing possession of child pornography. In July, he pleaded guilty to all the charges and was sentenced Friday (Nov. 7), according to Eldridge.
5NEWS reporter Ellen Thalls was at Sholds’ sentencing where the judge told Sholds he got a letter from his mother, who regardless of what he has done, still loves him. In response to his sentencing, Sholds’ apologized to the victim and her family and asked for mercy and compassion.
Randy Bise, 52, of West Fork was sentenced to 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole.
According to court records, on March 15, the Fayetteville Police Department received a call from a parent saying they had found sexually explicit photos of their eight-year-old son on Bise’s iPhone. Bise admitted to taking the images and to touching the minor in a sexual manner and was charged with two counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography, according to court records. In June, Bise pleaded guilty and was sentenced Nov. 6, according to Eldridge.
Eldridge said he was seeking a 140-year sentence for Sholds and a 60-year sentence for Bise.
“These offenses are horrible,” Eldridge said during a press conference Friday afternoon. “It is unfathomable and unconscionable what these defendants have done. As a result we have pushed for the longest sentences that we can for them.”
Both cases were investigated by the Fayetteville Police Department, the Northwest Arkansas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Homeland Security investigators.
“There are pedophiles and child predators among us,” Eldridge said. “We see these case all the time and we have got to do all we can to work together to prevent these crimes, to take care of our kids, and when these crimes do occur, to send these folks to prison for a long time.”
