BENTONVILLE -- A Rogers man was sentenced to 16 years in prison after admitting to sexually assaulting a 7-year-old girl.
Julio Marquez-Padilla, 42, pleaded guilty Monday to sexual assault. He was charged with rape but agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charge.
Marquez-Padilla was arrested Nov. 7.
Detectives with the Benton County Sheriff's Office began investigating Marquez-Padilla after the girl told her mother he had been sexually abusing her, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The girl was interviewed at the Children's Advocacy Center of Benton County where she provided details of being abused by Marquez-Padilla, according to the affidavit.
The girl's mother confronted Marquez-Padilla about her daughter's abuse, and he admitted to sexually abusing the child, according to the affidavit.
Marquez-Padilla was questioned by a sheriff's detective and admitted to sexually abusing the girl.
Benton County Circuit Judge Robin Green accepted Marquez-Padilla's guilty plea and sentenced him to 16 years in prison. He'll have to serve at least four years before he will be eligible for parole. Marquez-Padilla will have to abide by a suspended sentence agreement for 14 years after his release from prison.
He'll be required to register as a sex offender.
The judge also ordered Marquez-Padilla not to have any unsupervised contact with minors.
NW News on 04/17/2019