A 72-year-old Genoa, Ark., man is facing a sexual assault charge in Miller County for allegedly molesting a girl from 2007 to 2011.
Willard Page turned himself in on the charge Feb. 12. Court records show Page is represented by Texarkana lawyer Tommy Potter. Page posted a $50,000 bond the same day he surrendered to the Miller County Sheriff's Office.
The alleged victim, now 15, sent a message via social media to a friend late last year in which she allegedly mentioned being sexually abused. An adult who saw the message in the girl's phone confronted her about it and the girl allegedly made an outcry of abuse against Page.
The girl, who lives in Texas in a jurisdiction far removed from Miller County, reported to a forensic interviewer in Harris County, Texas, that when she was a young child she used to stay at Page's home in Genoa.
The girl said that when she was alone with Page he would have her sit in his lap and cover her with a blanket while he sexually assaulted her with his hands. The girl allegedly reported the abuse occurred when she was between the ages of 4 and 8 and that at the time it was occurring she did not know what was happening to her.
Page was arrested on a warrant for second-degree sexual assault acquired by MCSO investigators. He is scheduled to appear March 12 in Miller County circuit court for a status hearing.