Child-porn suspect pleads not guilty
Posted on Tuesday, July 8, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/63525/
BENTONVILLE — Geoff Neal Blake, a 46-year-old Springdale resident who is charged with computer child pornography, pleaded not guilty to the charge in circuit court Monday.
Blake was arrested May 27, according to court documents, after he used computer online services to arrange a meeting with what he believed to be a 14-year-old girl at a baseball field near Bentonville High School. He was met, instead, by Benton County Sheriff’s Office investigators.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, a part-time deputy, Richard Ivy, was posing as a 14-year-old girl when he was contacted by Blake. The conversations included discussions of a sexual nature, investigators said.
Blake, who was released from the Benton County Jail on $ 10, 000 bond, is scheduled to be back in court Aug. 18 for an omnibus hearing. His trial is slated for Oct. 7. The accusations against Blake could lead to five to 20 years in prison if he is convicted.
In a separate case, brothers Christopher Benton DeWitt, 23, of Pea Ridge, and James Clifford DeWitt, 28, of Pineville, Mo., waived their omnibus hearings scheduled for Monday and are now slated for a Sept. 23 jury trial.
The brothers are charged with separate rape charges. Christopher DeWitt is accused of assaulting a 16-year-old girl in the summer of 2007, while James DeWitt is accused of having a sexual relationship with that victim’s 14-yearold sister. According to court documents, both brothers admitted to the sexual contact during interviews with police.
The rape charges constitute a class Y felony that would result in 10 to 40 years or life in prison upon conviction.