The former chief public defender for Sebastian County pleaded not guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Little Rock to a charge of enticement of a minor.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia S. Harris set a tentative trial date of Feb. 26 for Daniel Arthur Stewart before U.S. District Judge Billy Roy Wilson.
The federal public defender was appointed to represent Stewart, according to an order signed by Harris. The order stated that Stewart, 49, of Fort Smith could not afford to hire a private attorney. He was released after the hearing on his own recognizance.
Court records show Stewart was indicted by a grand jury on Jan. 8.
Count one of the indictment said Stewart, "using facilities and means of interstate commerce, did knowingly attempt to persuade, induce, entice and coerce an individual, who had not attained the age of 18 years, to engage in any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense, namely a criminal offense under Arkansas law, conspiracy to commit rape, in violation of Arkansas Code Annotated Section 5-14-103."
Stewart was to have gone on trial Monday on the conspiracy to commit rape charge in Faulkner County Circuit Court. The prosecutor's office there dropped the charge Friday, stating in the dismissal order that "the defendant was indicted for this conduct in the Eastern District of Arkansas."
The spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in the state's Eastern District, asked for comment on why federal officials took over the state case, said via email that federal and state officials consult in cases such as Stewart's to determine where best to pursue prosecution.
Chris Givens also noted that while the charges against Stewart are similar in the federal and state cases, the elements of the state and federal charges are different, the penalties differ and the federal and state systems have different parole and probation.
Cody Hiland, who was the prosecuting attorney for Faulkner County when Stewart's case was filed there in 2016, is now the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
Stewart was arrested March 19, 2016, at a Fort Smith hotel where, police records say, he had made plans to meet with a man and his 13-year-old son. They actually were FBI agents and Faulkner County sheriff's deputies, including one on the Internet crimes unit who said Stewart had been communicating with an undercover officer in the weeks before the arrest.
The investigation of Stewart began after an undercover officer in the unit saw an online ad in which a person was looking to make contact with a "young guy" or "son," according to the 2016 criminal charge.
"During the chat, the suspect expressed a sexual interest in having sexual contact with both my adult undercover profile and the undercover profile's 13-year-old son," according to the Faulkner County affidavit from 2016.
The officer and the suspect made arrangements for the officer to travel to Fort Smith and meet at a Fort Smith hotel, where Stewart was arrested.
NW News on 01/16/2019