An Izard County man has been sentenced to 20-years in prison for sex crimes involving a 9-year-old girl. Forty-three-year-old Gerald Lawrence Villneff Jr. of Oxford was sentenced this week after agreeing to a plea deal. If he had gone to trial and been found guilty, he could have received up to 86 years in prison.
Villneff pled guilty to two counts of second degree sexual assault and sexually grooming a child. He was also ordered to pay $2,290 in fines, fees and court costs and ordered to have no contact with the victim. He was given credit for 228 days of jail time already served.
According to the probable cause affidavit from the Izard County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation began after a report was received on the Arkansas State Police Child Abuse Hotline about a girl being abused by Villneff. Investigators from the sheriff’s office and the Arkansas State Police Crimes Against Children Division interviewed the victim and determined Villneff had sexually assaulted her four times and attempted to one other time when she was between the ages of nine and ten.
Another tip came in to the sheriff’s office a few days later which led to a search warrant being executed at Villneff’s residence. Witnesses there corroborated some of the statements made by the victim.
The victim said Villneff told her he had a crush on her and told her not to tell anyone.
Villneff is being held in the Izard County Detention Center awaiting transfer to the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
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