LITTLE ROCK — A man wanted on a rape charge after authorities said he had sex with a 13-year-old was in jail Monday while police continued to investigate the case that has also led to the arrest of a former Magnolia teacher.
Dustin L. Rowland, 21, who is known to stay at residences around El Dorado, was arrested Saturday about 3:30 a.m. after the girl told police she engaged in oral sex with him at a motel, records show.
Police say Donna L. Sanders, 46, of Magnolia took the 13-year-old girl and a 12-yearold girl to motels and a cabin where they engaged in sexual activities. A 15-year-old boy said Sanders drove him around while he and one of the girls had sex in the back seat of Sanders' car, according to a police report.
Sanders was arrested last week on several counts of permitting child abuse and rape as an accomplice. She has resigned from her job at Magnolia Junior High School, where the two girls are students.
Prosecutors said they expect to file formal charges against Sanders and Rowland today.
Rowland has been arrested several times in Union County on theft, domestic battery and other charges, said Jerry Thomas, chief deputy of the Union County sheriff's office. On Monday, Rowland was being held in lieu of $25,000 bond at the Columbia County jail, where he was transferred Saturday.
Police said crimes occurred in both Union and Columbia counties.
The inquiry into Sanders and Rowland began last week, when police said rumors surfaced at the junior high school that Sanders was giving alcohol to a group of teenagers and arranging for them to have sexual encounters at various locations.
Sanders admitted to investigators and to her husband, Terry Sanders, who is an assistant principal at Magnolia High School, that she supplied the teens with alcohol and paid for the motel rooms, according to the arrest report.
She submitted a resignation letter Wednesday, the day she was arrested.
Sanders was being housed at a mental health facility, where she was to undergo a psychiatric evaluation before reporting back to a judge.
Magnolia Police Chief Robert Gorum said Monday that no other arrest warrants had been issued but the case was ongoing. He has said the motive in the case was unknown, as Sanders wasn't profiting or getting sexual gratification from the reported encounters.
A person convicted of rape of a child under 14 years old faces a minimum prison term of 25 years. Permitting child abuse is punishable by five to 20 years imprisonment.
Arkansas, Pages 9, 13 on 04/29/2008