GUILTY ... Women's prison chaplain pleads guilty to sexual assault in Sharp County Circuit Court

By Tammy Curtis
Area Wide News
July 5, 2016

http://www.areawidenews.com/story/2319355.html

Arkansas' prison systems have come under fire at the federal level in the last few years for rising sexual assault and harassment allegations against inmates, including a federal investigation by the Department of Justice into prisons such as the McPherson Unit in Newport last June. In a case that has drawn national attention and even prompted new training and policies for prison employees, a former prison chaplain was sentenced July 5, in Sharp County Circuit Court.

Judge Harold Erwin accepted a guilty plea from Kenneth Dewitt,67, a former chaplain at the McPherson women's unit near Newport. Dewitt was charged with 50 counts of felony sexual assault against three female inmates over a three year period while he was employed at the unit. He was also responsible for creating the Principles and Applications of Life (PAL) spiritual program in 2001 when he began to work at the prison.

Dewitt pled guilty to three felony counts of third degree sexual assault, one for each of the victims. Class C felony charges carry a three to 10 year sentence in the state penitentiary. At the time of the offenses Dewitt was both a member of the clergy and an employee of the Arkansas Department of Corrections ( DOC). While entering his pleas, beside his high profile attorney Jeff Rosenzweig, Dewitt denied using his position of authority to obtain the sexual favors but admitted to being employed by the DOC when he engaged in sexual activity with all three inmates.