An Arkansas woman accused of trying to frame her husband with child porn was booked into jail on multiple charges this week, court records show.
Cherie Renee Bolton, 33, went to the Siloam Springs Police Department in May to report that her husband had beat her, downloaded graphic images and sexually assaulted a 13-year-old, according to an affidavit.
She reportedly showed a detective a phone with several several sexually explicit images of girls. The 33-year-old told authorities that she had waited to report the assault because the man had beat her, adding she was in severe pain. An officer noted that Bolton refused medical treatment and that only a faint marking on her hip was found.
In an interview, the 13-year-old said she had not been sexually abused, the affidavit states.
Investigators learned that shortly before Bolton reported her husband, she was reportedly kicked out of her home and denied permission to see her children.
When interviewed by police in December, Bolton reportedly said she did not remember taking the phone to the police department and was using "dope" at the time. She later told authorities that she downloaded the images because she was mad that her husband was preventing her from seeing her children, police said.
Court records show a warrant was issued for Bolton's arrest earlier this month, and she was booked into the Benton County jail Monday on charges of distributing, possessing or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child and filing a false report with a law enforcement agency. The Siloam Springs resident was no longer listed on the jail's inmate roster as of Thursday afternoon.
Bolton's next court appearance is set for March 5.
