(8) Public Records - Local

 25 years of prison given to a man from Hope AR

Last week, a Hope man was found guilty of using the internet to lure a minor into engaging in sexual activity. He was sentenced to 300 months in federal prison, with credit for time served on a related state court conviction.

The sentence was announced by Federal Judge Susan O. Hickey.

Court records state that 36-year-old Jonathan Tyrell Haney persuaded a 12-year-old Ashley County girl to meet with him for sex through the use of the social media platform "Badoo." In April 2021, the victim vanished from her mother's house and then turned up by herself the following day at a convenience store in Columbia County. Later, Haney's DNA was discovered on the victim's attire.

The same day the victim was discovered, Haney was captured close to Sulphur Springs, Texas, after discovering that Arkansas authorities were searching for