Rare Rape Conviction in Faulkner County
By: Lauren Trager, KARK 4 News
Updated: December 5, 2012
Prosecutors in Faulkner County say a very rare rape conviction should encourage more victims to come forward.
The victim in the case was just a child when she says her mom's boyfriend raped her.
She didn't come forward for a decade.
But it didn't matter. Tuesday, it took a jury less than 20 minutes to convict Russell Hudson. He's now been sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping the girl, who is now a young woman.
Prosecutors say on rape cases where the victim is an adult, the statute of limitations is six years after the rape occurred.
For rape cases involving children, however, the statute of limitations doesn't run out until 6 years after the victim turns 18.
This case, they say, fell well within that parameter.
Even though it's more difficult to get a conviction of this kind after so much time has gone by.
This outcome should prove, they say, justice can prevail, even after time has passed.
"It should give some sense of assurance that the allegation won't be dismissed out of hand and if we can do that I think there may be others out there that find themselves in this situation that might have some hope of coming forward," said Cody Hiland, Faulkner County Prosecutor.
Cody Hiland says the law is written that way because it's often only after a child becomes an adult, do they understand what really may have happened to them.
This gives them the time they need to deal with it and still come forward.
The victim in the case was just a child when she says her mom's boyfriend raped her.
She didn't come forward for a decade.
But it didn't matter. Tuesday, it took a jury less than 20 minutes to convict Russell Hudson. He's now been sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping the girl, who is now a young woman.
Prosecutors say on rape cases where the victim is an adult, the statute of limitations is six years after the rape occurred.
For rape cases involving children, however, the statute of limitations doesn't run out until 6 years after the victim turns 18.
This case, they say, fell well within that parameter.
Even though it's more difficult to get a conviction of this kind after so much time has gone by.
This outcome should prove, they say, justice can prevail, even after time has passed.
"It should give some sense of assurance that the allegation won't be dismissed out of hand and if we can do that I think there may be others out there that find themselves in this situation that might have some hope of coming forward," said Cody Hiland, Faulkner County Prosecutor.
Cody Hiland says the law is written that way because it's often only after a child becomes an adult, do they understand what really may have happened to them.
This gives them the time they need to deal with it and still come forward.
