FAYETTEVILLE — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Arkansas, Western), published as received.

FAYETTEVILLE – A Springdale man was sentenced yesterday to 396 months in prison without the possibility of parole on one count of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor via Production of Child Pornography and one count of Possession of Child Pornography. The Honorable Judge Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in the U.S. District Court in Fayetteville.

According to court documents, in early 2022, the Springdale Police Department initiated a sexual assault investigation after a 13-year-old female disclosed to a counselor that, Pearson Pete Patrick, age 39, had been sexually abusing her over the past two years. During the ensuing investigation, Springdale Officers located Patrick, who during a post-Miranda interview, admitted to abusing the minor.

Law enforcement then obtained a residential search warrant for Patrick’s Springdale residence. A forensic examination of the electronic devices taken from the residence revealed multiple homemade videos depicting the sexual abuse of the 13-year-old victim. Further analysis revealed that Patrick had also recorded other minors via a hidden camera staged in the bathroom of his residence. 

Patrick was indicted by a Grand Jury in the Western District of Arkansas in September 2022 and entered a plea of guilty in October 2022.

U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.

Homeland Security Investigations Fayetteville, the Springdale Police Department and the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyler Williams prosecuted the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.