A mentally ill Little Rock man who has never been convicted of a sex crime must register as a sex offender, despite being cleared of criminal wrongdoing, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
The six-page decision comes eight months after 33-year-old Darrell Lamont Scott was found innocent by reason of mental defect of abducting two children from a Little Rock hospital in July 2020.
A state psychiatrist who examined Scott -- the younger brother of Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. -- diagnosed him as having mental illness, with several disorders, most notably bipolar disorder.
That illness compelled Darrell Scott to act out and prevented him from being able to tell the difference between right and wrong, the doctor found in a diagnosis accepted by both prosecutors and defense.
With the sides agreeing that Scott should be cleared on mental health grounds, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Cathi Compton entered that verdict in May.
However, both the judge and Scott's lawyer were surprised when deputy prosecutor Michelle Quiller invoked a provision of the Sex Offender Registration Act of 1997, which defines kidnapping and false imprisonment as sex crimes when the victims are children and the perpetrator is not the parent.
Under the provision, Arkansas Code 12-12-905, any offender declared innocent by reason of mental illness of a sex crime must still register as a sex offender.
Compton declined to impose the registration requirement because there has never been any accusation of sexual misconduct against Scott.
Prosecutors appealed, and Thursday the high court agreed that Scott must register. His attorney, Terrence Cain, did not return an email requesting comment.
The ruling, written by Justice Shawn Womack, states the law is clear and that Scott has no exemption from requirement.
"The Act's express language requires a person to register if he or she has been acquitted of a sex offense on the grounds of mental disease or defect. The Act further specifies that kidnapping and false imprisonment are deemed sex offenses if the victim is a minor and the offender is not the victim's parent. It is undisputed that Scott is not the parent of the minor victims," the decision states "Thus, Scott's acquittal by reason of mental disease or defect of two counts each of kidnapping and first-degree false imprisonment of minors who are not his children requires him to register as a sex offender."
Scott is enrolled in a court-monitored supervision program for defendants acquitted of criminal charges on mental-health grounds. After a state psychiatrist's finding in October that Scott does not pose a substantial risk to himself or others, he has been allowed to live in the community as long as he follows his doctor's orders, prescription regimen and treatment plan.
Sex offenders face residency and job restrictions. Everyone must undergo an evaluation by the Sex Offender Screening & Risk Assessment Program coordinated by the Arkansas Department of Correction that can result in their photographs and home address being publicized by authorities, depending on how they are classified.
They are classified into four levels, with the higher the classification level the greater the community notification about their living arrangements. Level 1 offenders, outside of their immediate family, are disclosed mainly to law enforcement. Level 2 offenders and above are subject to being listed on public registries, while a Level 4 sex offender is deemed to be a dangerous person.
According to police reports, over a four-hour span in July 2020, Scott shoplifted shoes and cosmetics from Dillard's department store in McCain Mall in North Little Rock, vandalized an acquaintance's yard and fence on 145th Street, drunkenly crashed a car near East Dixon Road and stole a pickup holding children ages 4 and 11 from outside Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock.
Scott had been taken to the hospital because of the crash.
The children's aunt had stopped there with the children to use the restroom. She was inside when she got a text message from the older child that somebody was driving them away.
In a phone call, Scott told her, "Don't worry, I'm the mayor's brother," according to a police report.
North Little Rock police arrested Scott back at McCain Mall about an hour later after the child texted his aunt where they were. Scott was in the mall, and the children were in the truck parked outside, police said.