The state Board of Health on Thursday revoked the paramedic license of a man who was charged twice with sexual crimes involving children, even though the charges in both cases were dropped.
The unanimous decision to revoke Charles Hawkins' license followed the recommendation of the Arkansas Department of Health staff and a three-member committee of the board that held a hearing on the matter in June.
Susan Weinstein, chairwoman of the committee, said Hawkins said at the hearing that "both times he was falsely accused."
"He indicated that he knows that coincidences don't usually occur like that, but in his case they did and these were false allegations," Weinstein said.
The committee nevertheless recommended the revocation, she said, because "in an overabundance of caution we didn't think the public should have this concern."
According to news reports, Hawkins, then 49, was arrested in May 2018 at the Jefferson Area Technical Career Center in Pine Bluff.
He was charged in Drew County Circuit Court with rape and second-degree sexual assault, court records show. According to the Board of Health committee's written recommendation, the reported victim was 10 years old.
The committee said in the recommendation that the charges were dropped on May 9 of this year.
It quoted the judge in the case as writing, "Due to the age of the victim, she was unable to articulate with specificity what happened to her."
In 2014, Hawkins was charged in Faulkner County Circuit Court with second-degree sexual assault involving a child, according to the committee recommendation.
Health Department attorney Brooks White said he was unable to determine why that charge was dismissed.
"Any prosecutor or police professional will tell you that crimes against children cases are notoriously difficult to prosecute for obvious reasons," he told the board.
The Board of Health didn't take any action in immediate response to that charge, Health Department spokesman Meg Mirivel said.
After the 2018 arrest, the department's emergency medical services section chief, Christy Kresse, issued an emergency order suspending Hawkins' license, Mirivel said.
She said Hawkins was not working with an emergency medical services provider at the time.
The Arkansas River Educational Service Cooperative's annual report for the 2017-18 school year lists Hawkins as an "emergency medical responder" instructor at the Pine Bluff career center, which is part of the cooperative.
Health Department attorney Reginald Rogers noted that Hawkins wasn't at the board meeting on Thursday even though he had the option of showing up to make his case. Hawkins can appeal the revocation to circuit court, Rogers added.
"I think all due process and fairness has been given to him," Rogers said.
Metro on 08/02/2019