Barry Sayger (Photo courtesy of Baxter County Sheriff’s Office)
The sexual assault case against an 80-year-old Mountain Home man accused of involvement with a young girl was opened based on a report made to the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office May 31 last year.
The case against Barry Edwin Sayger was closed out after he appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court May 12, pled guilty to the charges against him and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
An investigator with the sheriff’s office was assigned to the case on June 6 last year and formal charges were filed the next day by the 14th Judicial District Prosecutor’s Office and an arrest warrant was issued.
Barry Edwin Sayger, who address is shown as being along Oak Valley Lane on the arrest warrant, appeared in Baxter County Court July 29 and pled not guilty to the charge against him.
He was represented by a public defender.
THE CHARGE
First degree sexual assault is defined as “engaging in sexual intercourse or deviant sexual activity with a minor who is not the actor’s spouse.”
The actor must also fit into one of several categories generally requiring that the person be in a position of trust or authority and that they use that position to facilitate the goal of having sex.
Sayger is alleged to have lived at the residence on Oak Valley Lane for about a month. At one point the minor female victim was reported to have been seen peeking out of Sayger’s room. She was told by her mother she should not be behind closed doors with an adult male, that it “was not proper.”
The girl first said nothing about any inappropriate activity in Sayger’s room, but later admitted there had allegedly been touching and kissing between the two.
When Sayger was confronted with the girl’s allegations, he first denied anything improper had happened, but then said, “what do you expect? She pulls her pants down all the time and that’s all I’m saying about it.”
When Sayger was later asked if the allegation were true, he is said to have replied in the affirmative.
The relative who reported the incident met with a sheriffs’s department investigator to go over the elements of the complaint.
A forensic interview was also conducted at Grandma’s House Children’s Advocacy Center in Mountain Home where the victim provided information about the allegations.
There were other discussions among those involved and then Sayger was confronted with what the child had disclosed. It was at that point he is alleged to have made his “what do you expect?” comment and was told to get out of the residence immediately.
During a conversation with his ex-wife in Florida, Sayger is alleged to have said, “I’ve messed everything up, I’m just waiting for the police to come and arrest me.”
STATE TROOPER BOLO
After being ordered to leave the house, Sayger began driving north.
According to a probable cause statement filed by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Sayger was arrested June 7 last year after a Missouri State Trooper was notified that he was reported to be traveling on U.S. Highway 65 in Grundy County in the northern part of the state.
Sayger was said to be driving a Ford pickup truck and towing a camper displaying a Florida license plate.
The trooper eventually spotted the truck and camper and reported the vehicle to be occupied by one white male. A stop was made and Sayger was positively identified by way of his Arkansas driver’s license.
When the trooper computer checked the driver’s license, the Baxter County warrant for first degree sexual assault showed up and bond showed as being set at $50,000.
The trooper placed Sayger under arrest and took him to the Brookfield Police Department in Linn County to be processed initially. He was eventually incarcerated in the Macon County jail which also houses male inmates from nearby Linn County where there is no jail.
CASE SET UP IN LINN COUNTY
A case was set up in the Linn County Circuit Court to deal with the issue of extraditing Sayger back to Arkansas.
Initially, Sayger indicated to the court that he would fight extradition and asked for the services of a public defender. By July 8, that position had changed and he signed a “waiver of extradition and consent to return.”
Sayger was booked into the Baxter County jail July 12.
In late April 2024, a “Silver Alert” was issued for Sayger when he is reported to have gone missing. He was said to have last been seen in Hardy and was found safe a few days later at a location inside the Mountain Home city limits.
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