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Fort Smith Man Charged With Raping And Kidnapping 5-Year-Old Girl

FORT SMITH (KFSM) – A Fort Smith man was charged with rape and kidnapping Thursday (June 18) after police say he sexually assaulted a 5-year-old girl. For...

FORT SMITH (KFSM) - A Fort Smith man was charged with rape and kidnapping Thursday (June 18) after police say he sexually assaulted a 5-year-old girl.

Fort Smith police arrested James Deeds, 54, after the girl's mother noticed she went missing for 30 to 45 minutes Wednesday evening (June 17), according to a probable cause affidavit from the Fort Smith Police Department.

After the child was found she told her mother that a man in apartment #13 had pulled her inside and sexually assaulted her, the affidavit states. The mother told officers Deeds regularly sits in a chair outside a neighboring apartment and was absent during the same time period her daughter went missing, according to the affidavit.

The child was taken to the Hamilton House Child Safety Center where she was forensically interviewed. During the interview the child disclosed Deeds had done things to her that a normal five-year-old would not be able to describe unless they had witnessed the event or had been a victim, the affidavit states. The child was also able to describe the inside of Deeds' apartment, according to the affidavit.

Investigators found several hair bows and hair bands, and one of the bands next to where the victim said she was assaulted appeared to have long, black hair intertwined in it, according to a Fort Smith Police Department release.

The release also stated there were pictures of young girls in bikinis as well as adult pornography in Deeds' apartment.

Deeds was taken to the Sebastian County Detention Center.

According to the Sebastian County prosecutor's office, the charges of rape and kidnapping have been filed with the Circuit Clerk's Office.

His bond was set at $100,000 cash.

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