Man charged with violating sex offender reporting requirements appears in court

A Mountain Home man who received a seven-year prison sentence in 2017 for having sex with a close female relative is in the process of being charged with violations of registered sex offender reporting requirements in two counties.

Twenty-seven-year-old Jeremiah Wayne Selfridge, who was 18 at the time the sex crime was committed, was initially charged with incest and rape. He appeared during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court Monday (June 2) but his new case had not been set up and he was told to reappear June 23

In the original case, the rape charge was dropped as part of a negotiated plea agreement and Selfridge pled guilty only to incest.

After Selfridge was released from the state prison system, he is alleged not to have complied with sex offender registration requirements in both Baxter and Craighead Counties. The charge in Baxter County is listed as failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements and living near a school, public park, youth center, daycare or church. The charge in Craighead County is failure to report changes in his living arrangements as required.

Selfridge appeared during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court Monday (June 2) but his case had not yet been set up and he was ordered to reappear June 23 to be arraigned.

In court papers filed in Craighead County, Selfridge listed his address as being along a county road in Bono, a small town north of Jonesboro.

On May 12, Selfridge reported to the Craighead County Sheriff’s Office for his six-month verification check on information he is required to provide as a registered sex offender.

He said there had been no change in his living arrangements. Selfridge told the deputy he lived in Bono and in Yellville. He was told the dual addresses would not comply with reporting requirements and he said to list only his Bono address.

The Craighead County Sheriff’s Office reported being contacted by the property owner of the residence in Bono where Selfridge said he was living. The owner said he had evicted Selfridge and took possession of the property on May 9. He said when he inspected the residence, he found it abandoned with the water shut off and very little furniture inside.

Because Selfridge had been evicted on May 9, but said he was still living there on May 12, a warrant was issued for failure to comply with the requirements imposed on a registered sex offender.

Selfridge has appeared before Craighead County Circuit Judge Barbara Halsey who set his bond at $50,000. He was also required to wear an ankle monitor when he was released from jail. His next court appearance in Craighead County is set for June 27.

His bond in Baxter County is set at $15,000.

FOUND LIVING IN MH

According to a probable cause affidavit in the new Baxter County case, the sheriff’s office was notified by Craighead County that Selfridge was registered as a sex offender with that agency but information that had been obtained showed he was apparently living at an address in Mountain Home.

A Craighead County deputy reported that Selfridge was being accused of not reporting a change in his living arrangements as required.

It has also been pointed out that Selfridge would not have been allowed to move to the address along East 16th street in Mountain Home where he was said to be staying because it was in close proximity to two schools.

When Selfridge was contacted, he denied living in Mountain Home and said he had only been visiting for a few days.

Neighbors, however, told a Baxter County sheriff’s deputy that Selfridge had been seen at the address multiple times since November last year.

Selfridge was said to have refused to provide information to update his registration to show a temporary residence in Mountain Home, according to the probable cause affidavit in his Baxter County case.

MARION COUNTY CHARGE

In addition to his alleged violations of sex offender reporting requirements, Selfridge is also being charged with non-support for two children he is alleged to have fathered in Marion County, according to documents filed in the case.

He was shown to be thousands of dollars in arrears in child support payments.

Selfridge’s arrests in the three counties came during an eight-day period. According to court documents and jail records, he was booked in Marion County May 21, a day later in Craighead County and May 29 in Baxter County.

Selfridge is listed as a Level 3 (high level) sex offender, meaning he could have strong antisocial, violent or predatory personality characteristics. Those in Level 3 also have a “relatively high probability of re-offending.”

ORIGINAL BAXTER COUNTY CASE

The victim of the assault that led to Selfridge’s eventual conviction on the incest charge filed a report with the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office in late January 2016.

She said the assault took place in her residence along Buzzard Roost Cutoff. Selfridge was reported to have been visiting the victim at the time. She said at bedtime Selfridge asked if he could get in bed with her.

According to her account, the victim allowed Selfridge to come to bed with her in order to protect a younger female relative who also lived in the house from being a potential target of unwanted advances.

When the sexual contact began, the victim said she was not able to verbally persuade him to stop and couldn’t push the six-foot-two-inch Selfridge off of her.

After having sex with the victim, Selfridge left the bed, went into the living room and went to sleep on a couch.

The lawyer representing Selfridge filed motions to have his client evaluated to determine if he was mentally fit to proceed in the case or to understand the criminality of his acts.

While the report on the evaluation was sealed by the court, it can be assumed Selfridge was found fit since the case remained active.

On May 16, 2017, Selfridge entered a guilty plea to the incest charge in Baxter County.

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