A Malvern man has been sentenced to 30 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections after he pleaded guilty to rape of a minor in the the 13th Judicial District of Arkansas.
Jonathan Merritt, 32, of Malvern is currently serving 11 years in the Pine Bluff Unit of the ADC on a unrelated burglary charge out of Hot Springs.
According to a probable cause affidavit, on Dec. 16, 2021, the Dallas County Sheriff's Office was contacted about a rape involving a minor that had occurred the previous month.
The caller stated that Merritt raped a minor while the child was under the care of a baby sitter. The minor was examined at St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Illinois.
DCSO was advised that the rape had occurred near a deer stand in Jacinto and that Merritt removed his black tank top and "cleaned himself and her with the shirt and then threw it on the ground."
DCSO went to the location and recovered the shirt, as well as a plastic cup, Gatorade bottle and white lighter.
The shirt was sent off to the Arkansas Crime Lab for evidence gathering.
On Dec. 23, 2021 an arrest warrant was obtained for Merritt and served at his residence in Malvern.