Two Little Rock men have pleaded guilty to rape and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking four years after a 6-year-old girl was sent to th...
Two Little Rock men have pleaded guilty to rape and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking four years after a 6-year-old girl was sent to the hospital with sexually transmitted diseases.
According to the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Demarcus George, 27, entered a guilty plea in federal court on Wednesday afternoon, a full four years after a 6-year-old girl was sent to the hospital with sexually transmit diseases he also had at the time.
He joined his co-defendant Mario Waters, 33, who pleaded guilty one week prior.
In their pleas, they admitted to having intercourse with the minor and said they were involved in trafficking her and others.
The guilty pleas effectively cancel their jury trial, which was scheduled to begin on November 15.
US District Judge Brian Miller is now expected to sentence the two men at a later date. They face life in prison.
According to authorities, a 6-year-old girl, who has not been named, was taken to Arkansas Children's Hospital in February 2018 after she came down with symptoms that were later determined to have been caused by sexually transmitted diseases.
Doctors at the hospital determined it was unlikely that the child had obtained the diseases from the same man, and concluded there were likely multiple offenders in her rape.
The girl was then interviewed by the FBI, and said that two men - later determined to be George and Waters - had raped her.
George (pictured) and Waters will be sentenced at a later date. They face life in prison
According to authorities, the girl was sent to Arkansas Children's Hospital with symptoms caused by sexually transmitted diseases. Tests revealed both George and Waters tested positive for the sexually transmitted diseases the girl contracted
She described how the rape occurred in a hotel room with a curtain in the middle of the room, and described a picture hanging on the wall.
With that description, law enforcement officials were able to identify the hotel room in Little Rock.
Financial records from the establishment showed that the child's mother had rented a room at the hotel in March 2018 and paid with a credit card. The child has since been removed from her mother's custody.
Police officers then obtained search warrants for George and Waters' blood and urine, and determined that they both tested positive for the sexually transmitted diseases the minor had contracted.
'The unspeakable crimes committed against this child remind us how vitally important it is to have law enforcement officers willing to investigate and put a stop to these horrific actions,' Acting US Attorney Jonathan D. Ross said in a statement following George's guilty plea.
'These guilty pleas will spare the young victim from having to relive her experience on the witness stand at a trial,' he noted, adding: 'Our law enforcement partners work hard every day to protect children from this abuse, and our office will continue to aggressively pursue those who commit these deplorable crimes.'
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