A Saline County man is going to prison for a long time for child pornography, according to Saline County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Walton.
Richard Jason Wilson, 56, of Bryant was convicted of possessing multiple images of child pornography, and he was sentenced on February 20, 2024. The images in his possession included prepubescent children engaged in sexual acts.
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On September 11, 2023, detectives with the Saline County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) initiated an investigation after they received several tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Detectives reviewed the files and found multiple prepubescent children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Based on this information, search warrants were obtained that revealed the address and phone number of the suspect. Investigators found that Wilson was a registered sex offender living in the the city limits of Bryant, Arkansas.
After obtaining more information, Detectives brought Wilson in for questioning, based on items and material linked to Wilson’s phone number. Wilson acknowledged the phone was his and that he was the only one to ever use it. Wilson admitted to downloading some of the material found.
At that point, he was placed under arrest. Wilson was then charged with multiple counts of Possession of Child Pornography. Judge Houston accepted Wilson’s plea of guilty as charged, and sentenced Wilson to 40 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections followed by an additional 20 years of suspended imposition of sentence.
“Richard Wilson is a predator and a danger to not only this community, but any community,” said Prosecutor Walton. “This is exactly the type of behavior that warrants a significant sentence.
“He was sentenced to 15 years in prison back in 2006 for similar behavior and clearly has not been reformed. Thankfully, we have the watchful eyes of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children along with our local law enforcement officers, and if you are bold enough to download this sick and depraved material, which is victimizing thousands of children every day, you will get caught. It may not be today, tomorrow, or even next week, but we will catch you. And, when we do, you will join Richard Wilson in the Arkansas Department of Corrections.”
Walton went on to thank officials with NCMEC, the Arkansas State Police, the Saline County Sheriff’s Department and the Bryant Police Department for their hard work and dedication to keeping our children and our community safe from predators like Richard Wilson.
Wilson was represented by Paul Gann, and the State was represented by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Carrie Robertson.