HOT SPRINGS -- A Hot Springs man who was arrested in May in the rape of a 12-year-old girl has been charged with four additional felonies after videos of the girl were found in his email.
James Eugene Sharp, 32, who was initially arrested on rape May 10, was charged Thursday with four additional felony counts of video voyeurism. He also was charged with third-degree domestic battery and first-degree terroristic threatening shortly after the rape charge.
Rape carries a punishment of up to life in prison. Each of the other charges Sharp faces is punishable by up to six years.
Sharp remained in custody Saturday in lieu of $115,000 bond. He is to appear in court June 27 for the rape and video voyeurism charges and Aug. 1 for the third-degree domestic battery and first-degree terroristic threatening charges.
According to affidavits, on May 9, the Garland County sheriff's office received information from the Arkansas Child Abuse Hotline about the sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl by a known suspect, later identified as Sharp.
Sharp's wife told authorities that, on April 29, she was told her husband had sexually abused a 12-year-old girl. His wife then confronted him, and he denied the allegations, according to the affidavits.
On May 9, Sharp accused his wife of cheating on him and struck her several times, according to the affidavits. She said Sharp told her that "if she called the cops [about the sexual abuse of the 12-year-old female] he will come back and kill her; a restraining order won't stop him."
His wife was observed to have bruising on her left breast, upper left arm, left forearm, left hip, left knee and left shin.
On May 10, the girl was interviewed at the Cooper Anthony Mercy Child Advocacy Center, and said that, while she was in a bathroom, she observed Sharp's cellphone over the shower curtain. She said she believed Sharp was filming her. Sharp also is accused of molesting her numerous times between the ages of 11 and 12.
Investigators said they learned Sharp was attempting to flee to Georgia to avoid prosecution, and he was arrested May 10 by Garland County sheriff's investigators and Hot Springs police officers at a motel.
During their investigation, it was determined the video of the girl was uploaded to Sharp's email account and, on May 17, a search warrant was executed on the account. On June 5, investigators received a CD from Google containing four videos of the girl undressing that were found on the email account.
NW News on 06/20/2016