A registered sex offender is facing a criminal charge after being accused of dressing up as an elf and attending an elementary school's holiday photo event last year, Pulaski County authorities said.
Joshua Duvall, 35, of Little Rock was arrested Feb. 8 and faces a felony charge as a sex offender who went onto a school campus, according to the Pulaski County sheriff's office.
His arrest comes nearly two months after parents at Lawson Elementary saw Duvall dressed as an elf at a Dec. 18 holiday event. They told the school's principal a few days later that they recognized him as a registered sex offender after they saw photos of him at the event, according to the Pulaski County Special School District.
School officials said Friday that Duvall accompanied a friend who was invited to the school to dress up as Santa Claus. The friend was a student's grandfather and apparently didn't know that Duvall was a registered sex offender, according to a sheriff's office report.
No students were left alone with Duvall while he was at the school, according to a statement Friday from the school district.
District spokesman Jessica Duff said the school should have reported the incident to authorities sooner, and she faulted a miscommunication between administrators because of the holiday break.
Duff said the district is reviewing Principal Matt Mellor's handling of the incident, adding that "appropriate disciplinary action will be taken to make sure this doesn't happen again."
The Arkansas sex offender registry lists Duvall as a level three offender, convicted previously of second-degree sexual assault. Online court records and the registry did not provide details about the conviction.
The district said in its statement Friday that "protecting children is of utmost importance." The school plans to extend its security measures, including various background checks and ID scanners, to screen visitors. Visitor screening will be required at all after-school events, according to the statement.
"Sadly, we live in a time where past practices to ensure our students' safety cannot be limited to just our school personnel and volunteers," Superintendent Charles McNulty said. "We will work diligently with our partners to provide that same umbrella of protection for all events."
Court records show that Duvall appeared Monday in Pulaski County District Court and has pleaded innocent to the recent charges. Duvall's attorney did not immediately return a message seeking comment Friday.
The sheriff's office confirmed that Duvall was released on $10,000 bond earlier this week.
State Desk on 02/23/2019