Shawn Douglas Eaton of Mountain Home — charged with having inappropriate sexual contact with young girls — will undergo a psychological evaluation by a doctor chosen by the defense on September 25th, according to Eaton’s attorney, Mark Cooper of the Public Defenders Office.
Eaton was found not-fit-to-proceed by one doctor late last year and sent to the Arkansas State Hospital in Little Rock for treatment in mid-May. He was discharged after a short time in the facility and declared fit to proceed.
Cooper strongly objected to the finding and told the court that the Public Defender Commission would hire another doctor to re-examine Eaton and provide those findings to the court.
Eaton functions at a very low level mentally and all parties agreed that the Baxter County Detention Center was not the proper place to house an inmate like Eaton, but there was no viable alternative — so, he has remained locked up in the county jail.
No action will be taken in the case until the defense-sponsored evaluation is completed and the report on that evaluation is available.
The 21-year-old Eaton faces charges of sexual indecency with a child and two counts of 2nd degree sexual assault. He was originally arrested in July last year after Mountain Home police were called to the Donald W. Reynolds Library. The victim in that case was an 11-year-old female who told police that a man — later identified as Eaton — came up to her in the library and touched her inappropriately. She told officers she pushed Eaton’s arm, and he stepped away a short distance and exposed himself.
There were other similar incidents involving then 10-and-11-year-old girls at a local business and outside a residence in the city in July and August last year.
Eaton remains in the Baxter County jail. His bond is set at $50,000.
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