CONCORD -- A 16-year-old boy faces a March pretrial hearing in Cleburne County Circuit Court after being charged as an adult with sexually assaulting two girls on a Concord School District bus.
Paxton Herrera was charged in October with two counts of sexual assault in the second degree. One count involves a 4-year-old girl; the other involves an 8-year-old girl.
During interviews with authorities, the 8-year-old girl said a boy had stuck his hand in her pants and had "rubbed" her, according to an affidavit by a detective in the Cleburne County sheriff's office.
The child's 4-year-old cousin told authorities a boy used his hand and touched her on top of her clothes, the affidavit said. Asked to point to the part of her body that he touched, she pointed to the vagina on an anatomically correct doll, the affidavit added. The 4-year-old girl said she also had seen the same boy touch her cousin on her "bootie," according to the affidavit.
The purported offenses took place on a Concord School District bus that has a route in Wilburn in Cleburne County.
Mark Brackett of Searcy confirmed Friday that he is Herrera's defense attorney but declined further comment.
Concord School District's superintendent was out of the office and not available for comment Friday. Concord High School Principal Scott Whillock said the school has "given any and all information to the police." He declined further comment.
According to the police affidavit, Herrera was incarcerated from June 2013 until September 2015.
"During that time he continued to violate rules and threatened staff and family members," the report said.
Herrera enrolled in the Concord School District on Sept. 21. He was given "corporal punishment" on Sept. 30 "for physically hurting another student," the affidavit said. It did not elaborate on what happened.
"Documentation from multiple medical professionals note that Herrera is 'a threat to society'" and has "'homicidal ideations,'" the affidavit said.
Cleburne County Sheriff Alan Roberson referred questions about the case Friday to the circuit clerk's records, which included the affidavit.
State Desk on 01/30/2016