Long tops off child rape sentences with total of  620 years  

By Tammy Curtis, Managing Editor

The last of convicted Sharp and Fulton County child rapist Terry “Woodstock” Long’s cases were adjudicated on Jan. 13 in Fulton County. He had already been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.  But, additional time was added after he accepted a negotiated guilty plea to six counts of Class Y Felony Rape and one count of  Class B Sexual Assault.

Long, 65, of Ash Flat, received an additional 240 months in the Arkansas Department of Corrections by Sixteenth Judicial District Circuit Judge Tim Weaver. Long’s sentences will run concurrently with the two sentences he received in Sharp County. 

Thanks to the work of investigators Cham Buchanan with the Arkansas State Police Crimes Against Children Division and Lieutenant Greg Stewart with the Sharp County Sheriff’s Department, Third Judicial Prosecuting Attorney Devon Holder brought Long before a jury of his peers for trial on Nov. 14, 2024. The crimes took place between 2022 and 2023 against an 11-year-old victim. 

Due to Holden’s presentation to the jury,  it took them just under an hour to deliberate and reach a verdict. The eight-woman, four-man jury unanimously handed down 14 guilty verdicts to the child rapist.

Under Holder’s advisement, the jury was then also requested to consider giving Long the maximum sentence for each charge and solidify the community’s faith in the prosecution of child sex crimes in Sharp County. They did just that.  In about twenty minutes, they returned with yet another unanimous decision to sentence Long to the maximum sentence on all charges, 40 years each.  This is one of the longest sentences for a child sex offender in recent history.  This was the first of three sexual assault and rape cases Long faced. 

After receiving the 560-month sentence in November, he plead guilty during negotiations in his second case.  The second victim was also under the age of 14. Just over a month later, on Dec. 16, Long accepted a plea to an additional 40 years on two charges of sexual assault against a child in his second Sharp County case. The Sharp County charges alone set Long’s prison sentence at 600 years. 

On Jan. 13, Long signed his final plea agreement in the cases in Fulton County before Circuit Judge Tim Weaver and Sixteenth Judicial District Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Drew Smith on six counts of  rape and sexual assault charges, adding 20 years to his overall sentence. 

The offenses in this case also occurred in 2022 against the same 11-year-old child in the first Sharp County case. But, since the crimes took place at the Mammoth Spring State Park, the case was under the jurisdiction of Fulton County.

Long’s initial arrest set the stage for the other cases following his June 22, 2024 arrest. These cases may have never been brought to light had it not been for the victim’s mother putting aside her fear of public judgment and placing her child’s well-being and safety first. The mother began questioning things she found on her child’s cell phone from Long. She quickly reached out to the police and, soon after, to this media agency to tell her daughter’s story publicly.  She said she felt, or even knew with certainty, there were additional child victims. 

By coming forward and getting her story out and assuring the public the bond placed on Long would keep him behind bars, the other victims felt safe enough to tell, and they did.  

Both victims spoke to this reporter after the jury trial. The girls said they felt relief and satisfaction seeing their offender sent to prison for the rest of his life. The first victim said she hoped that their testimony would help another young child muster the courage to come forward and testify against their offender so they could not harm anyone else.

With all cases adjudicated against Long, Holder, who has his own young daughters,  spoke about the crimes publicly for the first time. 

“Terry had four minor victims that we know about. Pursuant to the Rules of Evidence, I was only able to produce evidence to the jury on two of them. Some victims, generally speaking, don’t come forward at all. Some come forward but refuse to testify or even change their story, leaving prosecutors with no case. The victims, in this case, were outright heroic. They did not just follow through. When I asked them to identify him in a room full of strangers, they fearlessly stood up, pointed at him, and paused.  My eyes watered up, and my voice cracked as I stated, “Let the record reflect that the witness has identified the defendant, Terry Long.” The rest is history.’”

Long remained in the Sharp County Detention Center on a $3 million bond since his June, 2024 arrest.  None of his family, including his wife, were present to speak for him at his trial. 

Holder added, “One of the primary purposes of sentencing is to deter other would-be offenders from committing similar conduct. Thank you, Sharp County, for sending a message. One down. Many more to go.”

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