# Arkansas man rapes and impregnates a child and gets a year of probation and a $700 fine **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 21, 2025, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-man-rapes-and-impregnates-a-child-and-gets-a-year-of-probation-and-a-700-fine/1021135 "2025-07-21T09:44:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-man-rapes-and-impregnates-a-child-and-gets-a-year-of-probation-and-a-700-fine/1021135/1 "2025-07-21T09:44:32Z")
Jesus. Where is Samuel L. Jackson’s character in _A Time to Kill?_ > **[Man accused of impregnating child avoids imprisonment with plea deal](https://www.fox5vegas.com/2025/07/18/man-accused-impregnating-child-avoids-imprisonment-with-plea-deal/)** > > An Arkansas man who blamed alcohol for impregnating a child last year pleaded guilty this week to a lesser charge. He was drunk. That’s an excuse? He has to attend a parenting class. Fuck, are they actually gonna give him joint custody? God, I hate this justice system. ---
**Author:** ![colinfred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colinfred/32/21338_2.png) [@colinfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colinfred)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-man-rapes-and-impregnates-a-child-and-gets-a-year-of-probation-and-a-700-fine/1021135/2 "2025-07-21T10:17:00Z")
The report doesn’t say he raped her and doesn’t give the age. He’s probably a scumbag, (with an actual child), but the way the report is written, it could have been a consensual affair with a 16-17 year old, which is perfectly legal in most civilised countries. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-man-rapes-and-impregnates-a-child-and-gets-a-year-of-probation-and-a-700-fine/1021135/3 "2025-07-21T11:09:52Z")
Yes, there’s little detail in the report. It does say that he visited the child at her home and had intercourse with her. Nowhere is rape mentioned (either in the report or any police charges.). ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-man-rapes-and-impregnates-a-child-and-gets-a-year-of-probation-and-a-700-fine/1021135/4 "2025-07-21T11:23:14Z")
Also, Arkansas. I think this is a rite of passage for men in Arkansas. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d estimate that roughly 100 percent of the men in Arkansas have done this. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-man-rapes-and-impregnates-a-child-and-gets-a-year-of-probation-and-a-700-fine/1021135/5 "2025-07-21T11:27:17Z")
> [@colinfred](#): > > but the way the report is written, it could have been a consensual affair with a 16-17 year old, The article mentions that he was initially charged with 4th degree sexual assault, which, according to the Arkansas Code, requires the victim to be under the age of 16 (and not the person’s spouse… ew). ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-man-rapes-and-impregnates-a-child-and-gets-a-year-of-probation-and-a-700-fine/1021135/6 "2025-07-21T12:11:41Z")
But they will prosecute the shit out of that girl if she tries to get an abortion.. fucking red staters. ---
**Author:** ![We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/We_re_wolves_not_werewolves)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-man-rapes-and-impregnates-a-child-and-gets-a-year-of-probation-and-a-700-fine/1021135/7 "2025-07-21T12:24:41Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > But they will prosecute the shit out of that girl if she tries to get an abortion. unlikely…I don’t know Arkansas laws specifically, but abortion laws almost always target abortion providers, not the women getting the abortion ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-man-rapes-and-impregnates-a-child-and-gets-a-year-of-probation-and-a-700-fine/1021135/8 "2025-07-21T12:31:37Z")
Why the Hell was there even a plea bargain, here? It’s trivial for genetic evidence to prove that he did it, and similarly trivial to prove that it was non-consensual, because the victim was underaged. Put it through the justice system, and it’s an open-and-shut case. Unless, of course, the reason that the law enforcement authorities agreed to the plea deal was because they saw nothing wrong with what he did. They need to be investigated, too, because they’ve probably got a host of sex crimes in their histories, too. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-man-rapes-and-impregnates-a-child-and-gets-a-year-of-probation-and-a-700-fine/1021135/9 "2025-07-21T12:31:59Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > according to the Arkansas Code, requires the victim to be under the age of 16 (and not the person’s spouse… ew). Isn’t Arkansas or some other deeply MAGA state trying to lower the age for marriage to 15? ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-man-rapes-and-impregnates-a-child-and-gets-a-year-of-probation-and-a-700-fine/1021135/10 "2025-07-21T12:37:59Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > He was drunk. That’s an excuse? He has to attend a parenting class. Fuck, are they actually gonna give him joint custody? > > God, I hate this justice system. So, by “legal precedent”, which the Legal (not “justice-if-you’re-lucky”) System holds so dear, I can drink a half a dozen Gin’n’Tonics, castrate then murder him, and plead inebriation for my crime? I do, too. Sadly, though, it is better than many, many others, and that is a sad reflection on human kind. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-man-rapes-and-impregnates-a-child-and-gets-a-year-of-probation-and-a-700-fine/1021135/11 "2025-07-21T13:08:10Z")
Where the fuck have you been? > **[After Roe, pregnant women face increased risk of criminal prosecution](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/after-overturn-of-roe-more-women-face-prosecution-for-what-they-do-while-pregnant)** > > In the first year after the Supreme Court ended the federal right to an abortion, 210 women faced charges for behavior related to pregnancy, abortion, pregnancy loss or birth. The decision emboldened prosecutors to develop aggressive strategies to... [https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/01/200-women-faced-criminal-charges-over-pregnancy-in-year-after-dobbs-report-finds/](https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/01/200-women-faced-criminal-charges-over-pregnancy-in-year-after-dobbs-report-finds/) > **[Woman's arrest after miscarriage in Georgia draws fear and anger](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/georgia-arrest-miscarriage-fetal-personhood-rcna199400)** > > Experts say the arrest is part of a pattern of criminalizing pregnancy that has accelerated since the fall of Roe v. Wade. [https://stateline.org/2025/03/06/gop-lawmakers-push-to-charge-women-with-homicide-for-seeking-abortions/](https://stateline.org/2025/03/06/gop-lawmakers-push-to-charge-women-with-homicide-for-seeking-abortions/) > **[The criminalization of abortion and surveillance of women in a post-Dobbs...](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-criminalization-of-abortion-and-surveillance-of-women-in-a-post-dobbs-world/)** > > As states criminalize women for self-managing abortions, prosecutors can access an array of surveillance technologies to investigate them. ---
**Author:** ![We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/We_re_wolves_not_werewolves)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-man-rapes-and-impregnates-a-child-and-gets-a-year-of-probation-and-a-700-fine/1021135/12 "2025-07-21T14:00:37Z")
take it easy…this is Arkansas specifically we are talking about. From what I can tell, Arkansas abortion law criminalizes performing abortion, not having an abortion. While Arkansas does appear to have a fetal personhood law, under which women have been prosecuted noted in your links, this only applies to a fetus after viability as far as I can determine. Thus, an abortion before viability would not criminally implicate the mother. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-man-rapes-and-impregnates-a-child-and-gets-a-year-of-probation-and-a-700-fine/1021135/13 "2025-07-21T14:04:49Z")
How does the Arkansas law define viability? In some states, it’s defined to be so early that a woman probably wouldn’t even know she was pregnant by that point. ---
**Author:** ![We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/We_re_wolves_not_werewolves)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-man-rapes-and-impregnates-a-child-and-gets-a-year-of-probation-and-a-700-fine/1021135/14 "2025-07-21T14:05:39Z")
that’s a good question. I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-man-rapes-and-impregnates-a-child-and-gets-a-year-of-probation-and-a-700-fine/1021135/15 "2025-07-21T14:26:11Z")
You mean this Arkansas? Fucking third world shithole Arkansas? Women in South Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Arkansas, Texas, Mississippi, Oklahoma and several other states have faced criminal charges after a miscarriage or stillbirth for failing to seek immediate medical treatment, not pursuing prenatal care or disposing of the fetal remains in a way that law enforcement or prosecutors considered improper. [https://www.kark.com/news/politics/abortion-would-be-felony-murder-in-arkansas-if-proposed-legislation-passes/?ipid=promo-link-block1](https://www.kark.com/news/politics/abortion-would-be-felony-murder-in-arkansas-if-proposed-legislation-passes/?ipid=promo-link-block1) > **[How Some States Turn Pregnancy Loss Into Criminal Cases Against Women](https://www.themarshallproject.org/2024/10/31/stillbirth-oklahoma-arkansas-women-investigated)** > > How a person handles a pregnancy loss — and where it occurs — can be the difference between a private medical issue and facing criminal charges. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-man-rapes-and-impregnates-a-child-and-gets-a-year-of-probation-and-a-700-fine/1021135/16 "2025-07-21T14:39:59Z")
> Gipson entered a negotiated plea of guilty to one count of second-degree child endangerment, a misdemeanor. I assume that also means that the ‘oops I was drunk’ defense also keeps this poor fella off the sex offender registry. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-man-rapes-and-impregnates-a-child-and-gets-a-year-of-probation-and-a-700-fine/1021135/17 "2025-07-21T14:42:14Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Women in South Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Arkansas, Texas, Mississippi, Oklahoma and several other states have faced criminal charges after a miscarriage or stillbirth for failing to seek immediate medical treatment, not pursuing prenatal care… While also doing all they can to make it as hard as possible to get prenatal care, of course. That was the biggest thing my conservative father objected to about the ACA: That it expanded prenatal care. Because OF COURSE that’s just a code-word for abortion, because what else could it possibly mean? ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-man-rapes-and-impregnates-a-child-and-gets-a-year-of-probation-and-a-700-fine/1021135/18 "2025-07-21T15:05:16Z")
And where is it that this minor would get an abortion if providing them is criminalized? ---
**Author:** ![We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/We_re_wolves_not_werewolves)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-man-rapes-and-impregnates-a-child-and-gets-a-year-of-probation-and-a-700-fine/1021135/19 "2025-07-21T15:06:19Z")
would you please stop posting random links that you know nothing about. That HB died in the house committee, it is NOT the law in Arkansas ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-man-rapes-and-impregnates-a-child-and-gets-a-year-of-probation-and-a-700-fine/1021135/20 "2025-07-21T15:11:40Z")
The sentence imposed here does seem extremely strange, but as noted, the article is lacking a lot of detail. FTR, I have a counterexample. I recently watched one of those police investigation YouTube videos about a teacher (female) carrying on a relationship with a student (a young boy who was a minor). They exchanged intimate photos and then it apparently escalated into unspecified physical intimacy. She had been an award-winning teacher but of course was immediately fired when this was discovered, and faced legal consequences. None of that is a surprise. What astonished me was the sentence when she was convicted – 30 years in prison! I mean, prison time for sure, but 30 years? Either we’re not getting all the facts, or the American justice system is wildly inconsistent! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-man-rapes-and-impregnates-a-child-and-gets-a-year-of-probation-and-a-700-fine/1021135.md?page=2)