AR man charged with rape, grooming after police find juvenile in apartment

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Forrest City, Arkansas man was arrested and charged with 30 counts of rape, grooming a minor for future sex trafficking, and endangering the welfare of a minor.

Forrest City Police say they received information last week that an endangered, underage runaway was at an apartment on Izard Street.

When they went to the apartment, 34-year-old Amos Hines, the occupant, told them the juvenile was inside.

“When Forrest City Police responded to Hines’s home here at North Izard Street Apartments officers say that Hines admitted that a minor was in his home and that she may have been there for quite some time,” said Forrest City Police Chief Ronald Broussard.

The juvenile was taken for an interview, and a search warrant for Hines’s apartment was executed based on that interview.

“After an intense and exhaustive investigation, it was discovered that a long-term illegal sexual relationship between Mr. Hines and the underaged juvenile had been going on for some time,” Forrest City Police said in a Facebook post.

Police believe the girl had been living there for a while. Investigators won’t say exactly how old the victim is, only that she’s under the age of 16 and would frequently run away from home.

Chief Broussard says Hines is not the only one preying on the victim. In at least one instance, officers say she had been with another adult.

“This young lady has revealed some things to us that are opening up other cases that possibly have had sex with her, so this is not isolated,” he said.

Broussard says runaways have been a growing problem in the area, which is why he encourages parents to have an open and honest relationship with their children.

“We can go on and have a conversation with them early and often about older men or older women, boys go through the same thing,” said Broussard.

Amos Hines was arrested on Monday and is being held on a $250,000 bond. The juvenile is in a facility seeking treatment.

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