FAYETTEVILLE -- A Springdale man was acquitted Wednesday night of charges he sexually abused a child.
The Washington County Circuit Court jury found Robin Jay Smith, 56, innocent of one count of sexual indecency with a child.
Judge Mark Lindsay dismissed a rape charge against Smith at the conclusion of the prosecution's case.
Smith was accused of raping and sexually touching a 6-year-old girl he was baby-sitting last summer.
Fayetteville police said that, on Oct. 10, the girl told her school counselor about sex acts she'd learned from Smith. She was then interviewed at the Children's Safety Center.
An arrest report said the child told authorities Smith performed sex acts with her while he was nude.
Smith testified for several hours Wednesday afternoon. He denied touching the girl and said she was very knowledgeable about sex. He told police the girl pulled her pants down and asked him to touch her.
Prosecutors put the girl on the stand Tuesday but she said she couldn't tell her story. After several attempts to get the girl's testimony, Lindsay declared her unavailable as a witness for the prosecution. Prosecutors submitted statements the girl made to investigators.
Metro on 09/21/2018