Authorities clasped handcuffs around the wrists of Kenneth Dewitt, the former chaplain at a women's state prison, when he surrendered Monday to Jackson County sheriff's deputies to begin serving time for sexually assaulting three female inmates.
Dewitt, 67, was transported to the Jackson County jail, where seven other state inmates are being housed until space becomes available at a prison facility.
"Inmates are placed on the backup list when there is not a bed available for them or when their sentencing paperwork is incomplete," Department of Correction spokesman Solomon Graves said, adding that it cannot be determined how long it will be before Dewitt is transferred to a state prison.
Originally charged with 50 counts that carried a possible 500 years in prison, Dewitt will likely spend five years in prison. The chaplain accepted a plea deal last month for three counts of third-degree sexual assault, a Class C felony. He was sentenced to 10 years with five years suspended on each count, all to run concurrently.
Prosecuting Attorney Henry Boyce said Monday that he had extensive discussions with the three female inmates -- who were housed at the McPherson Women's Unit in Newport -- and that each agreed to the plea agreement.
"I am certainly hopeful that the victims, as well as the Department of Corrections, are glad this case has finally come to a conclusion," Boyce said in a news release.
Dewitt worked for the Arkansas Department of Correction from 2001 until he was asked to resign last September, when former inmate-turned-employee Stacy Smith reported a "moral failure" with Dewitt that violated agency policy.
The allegations by the three female inmates that spurred an investigation by the Department of Correction's internal affairs office and the Arkansas State Police spanned from January 2013 to September 2014.
Correction Department Director Wendy Kelley commended Boyce and his staff as well as the Arkansas State Police in an emailed statement Monday for their work investigating the allegations against Dewitt. She added that Dewitt "acknowledged that his actions were criminal by entering his guilty plea."
"The Arkansas Department of Correction has taken, and will continue to take, allegations of sexual abuse in its institutions seriously," Kelley said in the statement. "State law prohibits any form of sexual contact between correctional staff and inmates. The Department will do everything in its power to protect the inmates in its custody from becoming victims of any form of sexual abuse."
The agency also has been under investigation since June 2015 by the U.S. Department of Justice after receiving "numerous allegations" of sexual abuse and sexual harassment, as well as mistreatment of transgender women at the McPherson unit.
Justice Department spokesman David Jacobs said Monday the investigation is not yet complete and, therefore, could not comment.
Kelley said previously that the attorneys from the federal agency said Dewitt's case did not originate the federal investigation.
Metro on 08/09/2016