Sexual assault trial of former deputy, school resource officer set

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Photo: Matthew Guthrie

A former Baxter County deputy sheriff, who worked as a school resource officer (SRO) at Cotter and is charged with seven counts of sexual assault involving a 16-year-old female student, is scheduled to go on trial March 16.

Thirty-three-year-old Matthew Guthrie appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday. His attorney, John Crain, has recently filed a number of motions in the case.

One of those motions asks the court to allow Crain to interview a minor female who is identified as a person who has given a statement to investigators. She is also referred to as a witness with “direct relevant information” regarding the charges against the former deputy.

Crain writes he was refused permission by the girl’s parents to talk with her, and he wants the court to make it possible for such an interview to take place. Prosecutors disagree. They have responded it is the prerogative of the parents as legal guardians of the girl to grant or withhold permission to talk to a lawyer for the defense.

The state also asserts there is no right “to confront witnesses prior to trial.”

Crain has also asked the court to suppress any evidence obtained from the defendant’s cellphone prior to a search warrant being obtained to examine the phone’s contents.

The defense attorney writes when Guthrie was interviewed at the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office in late July last year, his phone was on the table in front of him. The defense attorney alleges when investigators left the interview room, they took the phone without obtaining Guthrie’s consent. Crain says a search warrant was sought after the interview, but any evidence obtained before the warrant was issued should not be allowed at trial.

If the case goes to trial, Crain has indicated to the court he could call eight witnesses.

A hearing on the motions was set for Feb. 27.

According to court records, the former deputy is alleged to have made a full confession to engaging in consensual sexual activity with the student.

The student was interviewed July 25 last year and told investigators she had sex with Guthrie multiple times at four different locations in Baxter County. The victim was reported to have assisted with gathering evidence to substantiate the charge.

Guthrie is alleged to have said the sexual relations with the student took place between May and July, 2019. The encounters are not believed to have taken place on school property.

The allegation was brought to 14th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney David Ethredge by the girl’s parents. Ethredge requested an investigation by the Arkansas State Police Crimes Against Children Division.

Guthrie was hired as a jailer in January 2016 and was transferred to the position of SRO the next year. He was fired in the wake of the allegations, according to Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery.

At the time of Guthrie’s arrest, Montgomery said the fate of the former deputy was “now in the hands of the judicial system, and we expect he will be treated no differently than any other person” facing such serious charges.

Guthrie has been free on $100,000 bond.

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