Richard Peter LePage

     The Baxter County Sheriff's Office has arrested a Marion County man, 67 year old RICHARD PETER LEPAGE, on Sexual Indecency charges involving children.   The investigation that resulted in this arrest began on February 3, 2022 after a disclosure of sexual assault on a child had been made to the Arkansas State Police Child Abuse Hotline.  The report was made by a therapist from an in-patient mental health facility in Saline County where one of the alleged victims was a resident. 

     After receiving information of the hotline report, the Sheriff's Office and the Arkansas State Police Crimes Against Children Division began to investigate.  It was determined that the alleged conduct took place between approximately July 7, 2017 and July 7, 2018 in Baxter County.  On February 8, 2022, both of the child victims, now a teenagers, were interviewed at Grandma's House Children's Advocacy Center in Mountain Home using the ChildFirst forensic interview protocol. 

     The child victims alleged that RICHARD P. LEPAGE would touch them in a sexual manner and would disrobe and masturbate in front of them.  LEPAGE is also alleged to have been laying nude on top of one of the females.  This conduct was said to have occurred over a several year period of time, with the victims being between approximately ages 6 to 10 during the times this was going on. 

     Investigators made contact with RICHARD LEPAGE at his residence in Pyatt, Arkansas.  LEPAGE admitted to masturbating in front of the children but denied every touching them.  LEPAGE later came to the Sheriff's Office for a formal interview, but he declined to answer questions at that point and asked for an attorney.

     Investigators applied for a warrant of arrest for RICHARD LEPAGE, which was issued on March 14, 2022.  LEPAGE was arrested on this warrant and booked into the Baxter County Detention Center on March 20, 2022 on two felony counts of sexual indecency with a child.  He is currently being held in custody in lieu of $10,000 bond.  He is scheduled to appear before the Circuit Court to answer on April 4th.

/s/ John F. Montgomery,
Baxter County Sheriff