A 19-year-old Sherwood man accused of forcibly groping a female friend when both were 17 must stand trial as an adult, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Barry Sims ruled Thursday.
"Nothing in juvenile court would help him at this age," Sims said after a hearing. "I just don't think he's a good candidate."
Daniel Kaelob Thompson could have been kept in custody only until he turned 21 in December 2022 if his case were transferred to juvenile court, deputy prosecutor Katie Hinojosa told the judge. Charged with second-degree sexual assault as the result of an investigation by sheriff's deputies and the Sherwood Police Department, Thompson could face up to 20 years in prison on the second-degree felony charge if convicted.
Sherwood detective Kayla Pledger told the judge that Thompson's 17-year-old accuser came forward in August 2019 to report that Thompson had repeatedly groped her five days earlier after he had taken her to his home to watch a movie.
The girl said Thompson got her to lay on his bed with him to watch the movie then asked her if she was ready for her first kiss, Pledger testified. When the girl declined, Thompson began forcibly kissing her, groping and fondling her, tugging at her shorts and trying to undo her bra, even pulling her on top of him, before she got him to stop, according to the detective.
"She said she kept telling him no and to stop," Pledger said.
The girl said after they finished watching the movie Thompson drove her back home, telling her, "What happens at Daniel's house stays at Daniel's house. I know you like to run your mouth to your friends," Pledger testified.
An 18-year-old roommate of the accuser told police that she had a similar encounter with Thompson two years earlier at her 16th birthday party, Pledger said. Partygoers were playing hide and seek in the dark and Thompson ended up hiding with her. The roommate told police that Thompson had grabbed at her body but stopped when she asked him to, saying he had touched her by accident. The roommate said that when he grabbed her again, she left him, Pledger testified.
Interviewed by authorities, Thompson denied anything had gone on with the girl and that he had not been with her on the day she said he had assaulted her. But he confirmed that the girl was able to describe the color and decorations of his bedroom, Pledger said.
According to the detective, that's when the investigation shifted to the sheriff's office because the bedroom the girl had described was at Thompson's mother's home at 23 Cardinal Valley Drive, which is outside Sherwood city limits. Investigators had first thought that the encounter occurred at Thompson's primary residence, his grandmother's home at 3100 Fern Cove.
Defense attorney Bill James questioned the evidence against Thompson, pointing out that police had not asked the accuser why she took five days to report the encounter.
James further noted that investigators had not collected phone records that could confirm the girl's account of a text-message exchange between her and Thompson arranging for him to pick her up. All investigators had to show were screen-shots of text messages provided by the girl, but those pictures do not show when the messages were sent, James said.
Police had not even questioned the roommate closely enough to know exactly when the birthday party had occurred, he said.
Thompson's grandmother testified that the girl had not been to her home while his mother recalled a visit at her residence that lasted maybe 30 minutes and included a male friend of her son's and a female friend of the accusers. The other boy played guitar while her son sang, the woman said.
Arrested in June, about 10 months after the girl went to Sherwood police, Thompson has never been in trouble with the law previously. His lawyers said Thompson is an immature but obedient teenager who would be a good candidate for rehabilitation, even with the limited amount of time he would be under court supervision if prosecuted as a minor.
Thompson, who is free on bond, did not testify. His grandmother, 66-year-old Carol Thompson of Sherwood, who adopted him when he was 3 years old, told the judge that she "raised [Daniel Thompson] to be a good Christian person" and the teen dreams of being a professional wrestler with World Wrestling Entertainment.
His mother, 39-year-old Kaci Thompson of Sherwood, described the teenager as a "jokester" who "likes to make people laugh." Both parents agreed that he liked to stay home with his family and play video games.