Photo/Tammy Curtis
Charles Slater as he was being placed under arrest on Feb. 22, 2024 at the Ash Flat Ball Park with a large group of children present. This was his second of what would be three arrestes child sexual felonies, including rapes and sexual assaults. He isCherokee Village Detective Sgt. John Hutchins is the arresting officer as Cherokee Village Police Chief Monte Lane, his bond agent, Raven Tramen, Cherokee Village Police officer Anthony Wiles and Ash Flat Police officer Rick Moore provide back up.
Tammy Curtis, Managing Editor/Publisher
A Sharp County contractor who is facing six rape and two sexual assault charges against children under the age of 14 in both Sharp and Fulton Counties had another day in court on Jan. 13 in Fulton County. With two motions in play during the hearing, Circuit Judge Tim Weaver denied one and tabled the other until victim testimony could be received to determine if it would be admissible during the trial.
Charles Slater, 46, through his attorney R.T. Starken, filed a motion on Jan. 9 to be released from jail on his own recognizance after being held since Feb. 22, 2024 on a $250,000 cash-only bond, set in Sharp County after his second arrest for sexual assault.
Slater faced later charges of rape in Fulton County for rapes that occurred between 1999 and 2000 against a victim who was 14 years old or younger. Slater has a second $100,000 bond in Fulton County.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Drew Smith addressed the Motion for Release filed in Fulton County Circuit Court for the state during the Jan. 13 hearing.
Slater asserted that he had been held over the nine months allowed under Rule 28.1 of the Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure and was entitled to be released.
After both Smith and Starken made oral arguments, the court ruled that the dates between April 23, 2024, when a Constitutional challenge was filed by Slater, and Sept. 17, 2024, are excluded from the timeframe. Judge Tim Weaver also found that a Motion for Discovery filed on Sept. 26, 2024, that has not been adjudicated, also goes against Slater’s motion for release for the nine-month rule. Which states, “excluding only such periods of necessary delay as are authorized…”
Also argued during the Fulton County hearing was Slater’s motion not to allow evidence to be presented at trial of his prior “bad acts.” Starken contended there were over 20 years between the Fulton and Sharp County allegations, although both cases were against children under the age of 14.
Judge Weaver held off on ruling on the “previous bad acts” testimony being used during the trial. He granted the motion that the court would not use adult victims’ testimony when the offenses allegedly occurred as adults. Weaver said he would like to have the child victim’s testimony on the record before the Jan. 27 trial in Fulton County Circuit Court. The Sharp County pretrial is on the same date, but Weaver signed a transport order for Slater to be brought to Fulton County after the pretrial hearing in Sharp.
In September, Weaver also denied his motion to declare the Statute of Limitations on Slater’s rape cases in Fulton County to be applied to the case citing case law that the crime of rape no longer has a statute of limitations.
Slater’s problems began when he was first arrested in Sharp County on Feb. 9, 2024, on four charges of Class Y Felony rape against a victim under the age of 14 that occurred in Dec. of 2023. Slater quickly posted the $150,000 cash or professional bond set by District Judge Mark Johnson.
It wasn’t long until he was again arrested. This time at an area specifically against his conditions of bond, at a local ballpark with dozens of children present. Slater set the meeting on Feb. 22 at the location with his bonding agent, Raven Tramen, to get new batteries for his ankle monitor. While meeting her, the Cherokee Village Police Department again arrested Slater on a second set of charges from a second victim. This time it was two counts of sexual assault in the second degree. Again, the victim was under the age of 14. This time, his cash-only bond of a quarter of a million dollars set by Judge Alexander Bigger has kept Slater behind bars. But this wasn’t Slater’s last arrest for the allegations of sex crimes against yet another victim under the age of 14.
While incarcerated at the Sharp County Detention Center, he was also arrested on Fulton County charges of two more counts of Class Y Felony rape on April 8, 2024.
Slater, through his attorney, has filed several motions, all of which have been denied in both his Fulton and Sharp County cases, including a motion not to allow evidence of prior “bad deeds”, meaning requesting the court not bring his other rape cases up during a jury trial.
In November, he filed a “Demand for a Speedy Trial” in the Sharp County cases and again, on Jan. 6, filed a motion to be released from jail in Sharp County on his recognizance for what he alleges was the state’s lack of providing him a speedy trial. Judge Rob Ratton has not answered that motion at press time, but the Sharp County motion will likely also be denied due to the Fulton County denial.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joe Grider filed a motion in the Sharp County cases indicating the prosecution planned to use this evidence at trial based on relevancy but would provide the said evidence to Starken in the case.
Circuit Judge Rob Ratton approved another motion in the Sharp County cases, which will allow for the use of a certified facility dog during witness testimony at the trial, which is set for Feb. 18, with any pre-trial motions in the Sharp County cases set to be heard on Jan. 27.