Sebastian County sex offender gets 18 years for sexually assaulting child
GREENWOOD, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A Sebastian County sex offender was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Monday for sexually assaulting a child, according to court documents.
Jamie Speaks, 56, pleaded guilty to a second-degree sexual assault charge. In addition to his sentence, Speaks also received a 12-year suspended sentence.
Speaks received credit for 227 days served in the Sebastian County Detention Center.
His trial was set to begin on May 19, however, a filing on April 11 said a plea hearing was scheduled for Monday.
The Arkansas Crime Information Center's Sex Offender Registry database shows Speaks is a level two sex offender.
A probable cause affidavit filed on July 8 said GPD received a report from the parents of a 16-year-old on May 26, 2022, about a sexual assault.
The victim reportedly disclosed to a counselor that she was sexually abused by Speaks at a daycare when she was around two years old.
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She told interviewers Speaks would come into the daycare she attended while his wife worked in the kitchen.
Speaks would take her by the hand into the bathroom, where he would sexually abuse her.
The girl said she had never told anyone about the abuse until she was in counseling at age 16.
Before Speaks was arrested, he was named in two civil lawsuits against Miss Tina's Preschool in Greenwood that were filed in December 2023 and January 2024. However, one of those lawsuits was resolved in January 2025.
The lawsuits accuse the preschool of knowingly allowing a convicted child predator to be around children at the school, which reportedly led to long-term sexual abuse.
Speaks is accused of forcefully and intentionally 'making harmful physical sexual contact' with minors who were at Miss Tina's.
The lawsuits say Speaks was charged in 1993 with molesting a seven-year-old who was in his care and his wife at their at-home daycare.
His wife closed the daycare in 1994 after the incident and was later hired at Miss Tina's, according to the lawsuit.
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Tina Skaggs, the owner of the preschool, allegedly knew of Speaks' criminal history when she hired his wife and allowed him to spend time at the preschool despite his convictions and sex offender status.
In the lawsuit, Skaggs denied the assertion that Speaks was 'frequently and consistently present' during the time of his wife's employment at the preschool.
She also denied being aware that Speaks was left unsupervised with children and taking them into the bathroom.
The unresolved lawsuit is set to go to trial on August 11.
Court documents say Speaks pleaded guilty to sexual assault and sexual indecency with a child charges in June 2012.
As part of his sentence, Speaks has been ordered to have no contact with the victim and continue his sex offender registration.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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