Photo: Roy Charley Parker
A man charged with cruelty to animals in Baxter County in 2011 now faces a charge of internet stalking of a child out of Jackson County.
Forty-eight-year-old Roy Charley Parker, also known as Roy Charles Parker and Charlie Parker, was arrested Monday on the felony charge by Jackson County authorities.
The arrest came following an investigation where authorities posed as a 13-year-old girl on social media, after Parker allegedly began sending crude, sexual propositions to the Jackson County child on Snapchat. Parker allegedly added the child on social media on July 16 and immediately began to proposition her.
The girl told Parker she was 13 years old, and he allegedly asked her if her mother was single, then sent a voice message concerning the child and her mother. After another message on July 20, the child’s parents became involved and contacted authorities.
Law enforcement became actively involved, at that point, and conducted a conversation with Parker, in which he allegedly made graphic propositions and arranged for a meeting with the child. The meeting did not take place, but authorities obtained enough evidence to charge Parker with the stalking crime. An affidavit filed in the case notes Parker was informed five times that the child was only 13 years old.
According to KAIT TV in Jonesboro, Parker was scheduled to appear in circuit court Tuesday.
Parker became known to Baxter County law enforcement in July of 2011 when 10 horses were seized from a residence on County Road 213 in the southern part of the county. Authorities had received a tip and discovered the horses on the premises, only two of which had any access to water, according to a news release at the time from the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office. Also found were neglected dogs and cats on the property.
The property included a pond with water and surrounded by grass within 200 feet of the corrals, but the horses were denied access to the area. The horses were seized, rehabilitated and surrendered to the state.
Parker was charged with four felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and six misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals. Authorities also learned Parker had previously been charged with animal cruelty in Izard County.
Parker would end up being sentenced to five years probation on one count of felony cruelty to animals and one year of probation on four misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty, according to electronic court records. Some charges were not prosecuted due to a negotiated plea.
The state filed to revoke Parker’s felony probation in August of 2016, after he “committed the criminal offense of third-degree stalking in Stone County,” according to the revocation petition.
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