BENTONVILLE — A former Springdale School District employee faces charges in the sexual assault of a 12-year-old middle school student.
Dalton Ray Mize, 19, of Springdale is charged with second-degree sexual assault, a felony punishable with a prison sentence ranging from five to 20 years. He has pleaded innocent.
Mize is accused of engaging in sexual contact with a student at Sonora Middle School. Mize was an hourly employee for the school district and was responsible for mowing school district properties. He has been fired.
Phillip Group, Sonora’s school resource officer, was notified April 19 that the girl was dating a district employee, according to a probable cause affidavit. Group was able to watch a video of Mize, who entered the school building and kissed and hugged the girl, according to the affidavit.
The girl was taken for a forensic interview at the Child Safety Center of Washington County, according to court documents.
Mize and the girl had dated since March and had exchanged several text messages, according to court documents. The girl said she and Mize had “sexted,” a term for the sending of sexually explicit photographs or messages via cellphone.
Both told investigators that they had texted photos of themselves, according to the affidavit.
Mize told the girl he loved her and asked her whether she wanted children, according to text transcripts. He also advised her to delete all texts and phone calls between them, according to court documents.
Mize told police investigators that he apologized to the girl’s parents in a letter and said he had no prior arrests or convictions, according to court documents. Mize told investigators he had sexual contact with the girl but said he “messed up and it was a mistake,” documents say.
Mize told police that he drove the girl home once and had sexual contact with the girl in his pickup, documents say. That occurred in Benton County, according to court documents.
A hearing is set for 8 a.m. July 18.