Billy Rowe, a former Fort Smith police officer, was sentenced on Monday (July 7) to five years in prison after being convicted of the second-degree sexual assault of a teenager, officials said.
Rowe was sentenced in Sebastian County Circuit Court before Judge Steve Tabor. The former officer also is required to register as a sex offender.
Rowe, 31, of Bonanza earlier pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual assault,court records show. He was accused of having sex ith a teenager he met at a summer church camp, according to court documents.
Rowe was a counselor at a church camp in July 2013, when he began the relationship with the 16-year-old girl, court documents state.
Rowe had sex four times with the teen in Sebastian County outside the Fort Smith city limits, according to court documents.
On another occasion, Rowe, while on duty, performed a “deviate” sex act on the victim within Fort Smith city limits when she was with him participating in the department’s ride-along program, according to court documents.
The sexual encounters are believed to have begun in July and ended in August, investigators said.