BENTONVILLE — A Garfield man pleaded not guilty Monday to rape and child pornography charges.
Steven Eugene Tate, 40, is charged with two counts of rape, which is a Class Y felony, and five counts of distributing, possession or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, a Class
C felony. He pleaded not
guilty to the charges during
an arraignment before Cir
cuit Judge Jon Comstock.
Tate was arrested July 2,
according to court docu
ments. According to the
documents, the mother of
a 14-year-old girl reported
her daughter disclosed Tate
had sexually abused her for
six years.
The girl was interviewed
at the Children’s Advocacy
Center of Benton County.
She reported the abuse
began when she was 8, and
the last abusive incident
was in August 2011, accord
ing to court documents.
Rogers police obtained a
search warrant and went to
Tate’s residence, according
to court documents. Police
found two computers and
located some images of
possible teenage females
who were partially dressed,
according to court docu
ments.
Tate was released from
the Benton County Jail
last week after posting a
$50,000 bond. He must
wear a GPS ankle monitor
as a condition of his bond.
Comstock also ordered
Tate not to have any contact
with the girl or have any
unsupervised contact with
any other minor. Tate also
was prohibited from having
any Internet access. An om
nibus hearing is scheduled
for 9 a.m. Sept. 27.
Church, Pages 3 on 08/15/2012