Parole has been denied for a Mountain Home man serving time in prison for possessing, distributing or viewing child pornography.
The parole hearing for 28-year-old Anthony Shane Casal, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Baxter County on May 13, 2024, was held September 23. Casal is an inmate at the Ouachita River Correctional Unit in Malvern.
According to the Parole Board website, the denial of the parole is for a year when it could be reconsidered.
On January 17, 2024, Casal also was sentenced to five years in prison and 10 years suspended imposition of sentence on similar charges brought against him in Crawford County.
The sentences in both counties will run concurrently or at the same time.
According to court records, Casal registered as a sex offender in Colorado in 2017 after he pled guilty to forced sexual assault with a teenage female.
BAXTER COUNTY CHARGES
Investigations in both Arkansas counties ran along parallel tracks after Casal moved to Mountain Home from Crawford County.
A special agent with the Arkansas State Police in western Arkansas reported to a counterpart in this area that he had obtained an arrest warrant for Casal in Crawford County alleging that he had uploaded child sexual abuse material (CSAM) onto electronic devices in his possession.
As investigators went through files Casal is alleged to have uploaded, they discovered a mix of videos and images with file names suggestive of child pornography. In the probable cause affidavit, it is noted that more than 2,200 videos and other images were found.
A search warrant was served on Casal’s Mountain Home residence in August 2023 and material stored on electronic devices belonging to Casal was extracted and reviewed. According to the probable cause affidavit, many videos and pictures depicting pre-pubescent children involved in sexual activity with adults, other children and even animals were found.
CRAWFORD COUNTY CHARGES
The investigation into Casal’s activities began in Crawford County in mid-April 2023 when the sheriff’s office there received a referral from the Greenwood Police Department (GPD).
The GPD had been notified that the Center for Missing and Exploited Children had obtained information that Casal was alleged to have uploaded suspected child sexual abuse material (CSAM) onto a platform on two different occasions in 2022.
The electronic devices used to obtain the pornographic material were traced to Wave Rural Connect and then to Casal’s address in Uniontown.
It was also discovered that Casal was a registered sex offender in Arkansas because of the attempted sexual assault conviction in Colorado. He was registered with the Mountain Home Police Department and had been assigned a risk Level of 2.
During the investigation, it was determined that Casal had moved twice since the initial notice to the sheriff’s office in Crawford County about the suspected (CSAM).
His first move was to an address in Greenwood and then to a residence along Cardinal Drive in Mountain Home.
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