A Sharp County man already facing multiple felonies in Sharp County for residential burglary and theft, also now faces sexual assault charges.
According to a report from the Cherokee Village Police Department 28-year-old Alexander Riddle Armstrong of Ash Flat was taken into custody March 23 now faces the charge of felony sexual assault in the second degree.
The charges stem from an incident which occurred in August of 2021 when Armstrong requested to stay at a residence in Sharp County after claiming to an individual known to him that he had living in the wood because he was concerned about being arrested and did not want to sleep outside as the weather was getting bad.
The individual stated Armstrong could sleep on the couch for the night, however; once everyone had gone to bed, Armstrong went into one of the bedrooms of children living in the home.
At this time, Armstrong crawled into the bed and began to place his hands on the genitals of a male victim.
The victim told him to stop several times at which time Armstrong allegedly stated, “turn off the lights, nobody will know what happened, I’ll tell nobody”.
Armstrong also told the victim he would perform oral sex.
The victim got up and went to his mother’s room telling her Armstrong had been masturbating in front of him.
It was later discovered Armstrong had also attempted to get into the bed of the victim’s brother as well, however when his attempts failed, he went to the room of the victim.
Another adult male was in the home at the time and after ensuring the children were safely secured in their rooms, kept Armstrong from them and took Armstrong to another residence.
When the victim’s mother confronted Armstrong, he claimed he had stumbled into one of the children’s rooms but denied touching them.
Armstrong’s hat was found at the head of one of the children’s rooms and an extinguished cigarette was found in the room of another.
Approximately two weeks later, Investigator John Hutchins with the Cherokee Village Police Department was able to locate Armstrong and interview him.
Armstrong denied being at the residence at which he had requested to stay the night, touching the victim or any of the other allegations.
On March 23, Hutchins found an active warrant had been issued for Armstrong regarding the case and contacted the Izard County Sheriff’s Office to advise them.
Armstrong was taken into custody and transported to the Sharp County Sheriff’s Department.
Lauren is a an award-winning journalist who decided after 10 years of newspaper experience to venture out. Hallmark Times was born.
