A former family physician in Fort Smith was sentenced Wednesday to 110 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections after pleading guilty to multiple counts of sexual assault and related charges, according to court records.
Ladaryl M. Lankford, 46, pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual assault, one count of introducing a controlled substance into the body of another for a sex offense, and three additional charges. Each of the abuse-related sentences will run consecutively, giving Lankford a total prison term of 110 years.
Investigators said the assaults occurred between Jan. 1, 2016, and March 30 of this year, when the victim reported the abuse to police.
Lankford also received a 15-year suspended sentence that will serve as a probationary period following his incarceration. He is required to register as a sex offender.
He was arrested by Fort Smith police in April after an investigation. A prosecutor’s affidavit states investigators uncovered evidence that Lankford assaulted the victim while the child was sleeping, used hidden cameras in bathrooms to record the minor, and produced child sexual abuse material from the recordings. The controlled substance charge stemmed from Lankford giving the victim a potent sleep aid to facilitate the abuse, according to the report.
Arkansas State Medical Board records show Lankford’s medical license was suspended in May, several weeks after his arrest.