MONETTE — Authorities arrested a Monette Church of Christ pastor Tuesday and charged him in the sexual assault of a 17-year-old Nebraska girl who had been missing since January.
Charles Hughes, 39, was held in the Craighead County jail in Jonesboro awaiting a bail hearing, Sheriff Jack McCann said.
The girl, a relative of Hughes’ wife, was reported missing from her Fairbury, Neb., home Jan. 20, McCann said.
During the investigation into her disappearance, detectives saw calls on her cell phone from Monette, Mc-Cann said.
Nebraska authorities called the Monette Police Department, and officers found the girl at Hughes’ home, he said.
She had been in Monette before to visit Hughes and his wife, McCann said.
Hughes drove to Nebraska in January and then returned to Monette with the girl, the sheriff said.
The FBI also is involved in the case and federal charges are possible, McCann said.
Arkansas, Pages 14 on 03/22/2012