One Izard County man is trying to restore his life and reputation after being found innocent following a jury trial late last year.
41-year-old Jeremiah Coffer of Melbourne was arrested and charged in April of 2022 with charges of rape, first degree sexual assault and four counts of second-degree sexual assault stemming from allegations made to the Arkansas State Police Child Abuse Hotline.
The trial began Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023 and ended the following day after a brief deliberation period with the verdict returning innocent on all counts.
“The jury was the only thing I’ve trusted so far. Everything else has been a gray area. I want to thank the jury for sure because they seem to be the only ones who were objective,” Coffer said.
Prior to his arrest, Coffer said he worked federally as an aviation mechanic, but that came to a halt and continues to be out of reach following the arrest.
“I worked federally before all this happened, I worked doing aviation maintenance and was actually headed to Texas to work on a job when I got the call to talk to the investigator,” Coffer said. “I got an e-mail from both of my recruiters that said in lieu of the situation, the arrest alone doesn’t allow me to work in my trade anymore.”
Although Coffer said he was found innocent in a court of law, the court of public opinion continues to be a challenge, and reached out to Hallmark Times and other media agencies after seeing previous media coverage prior to his court date.
“I have not been able to find work since all of this happened. As for trying to get a job locally, I have not been able to get a job due to the situation, I’ve put in many applications but haven’t gotten a call back or if I did It was like I was flagged, and they said they didn’t need me. It’s ruined my life,” Coffer said.
Lauren is a an award-winning journalist who decided after 10 years of newspaper experience to venture out. Hallmark Times was born.
