TEXARKANA, Ark. -- A man who sexually abused a 4-year-old Miller County boy while babysitting in 2020 was sentenced to 40 years in prison Tuesday.
Kegun Dwayne Daigle, 26, pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of second-degree sexual assault at a hearing before Circuit Judge Wren Autrey in Miller County. Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Connie Mitchell said Daigle received a 25-year term on the most serious charge and two 15-year terms on the other two counts.
The two 15-year sentences will run concurrently with each other but consecutively to the 25-year term for a total sentence of 40 years.
Mitchell said the plea agreement spares the young victim the stress of a jury trial.
"The family participated in plea negotiations. They sought to balance the trauma of the child testifying and an appropriate punishment. We believe this negotiated plea accomplishes both," Mitchell said.
Daigle was arrested as the result of an investigation by the Miller County Sheriff's Office that began at a Texarkana hospital July 31, 2020.
According to a probable cause affidavit, the boy's mother allowed Daigle to stay at her home in Miller County for about four days and Daigle was babysitting her 4- and 5-year-old children while she was at work. The mother told investigators she received a message from Daigle informing her that her youngest child had fallen on a toy and injured his mouth.
Unable to get a response from Daigle, the mother left work and returned home to check on her son.
She found her 4 year old in the bathtub in his underwear with cold water running.
The mother reported that after getting the child out of the tub she noticed he was walking "oddly." The mother noted the boy had a bleeding lip, various bruises on his body, a bleeding rectum and redness on his genitals.
A physician who examined the child documented the injuries and concluded they had occurred that day. Aug. 6 at the Texarkana Children's Advocacy Center, the boy described to a forensic interviewer behaviors by Daigle that amount to sexual and physical abuse. The boy allegedly told a sexual assault nurse examiner that Daigle beat him with a spoon.
The victim's brother told a forensic interviewer that he heard his brother scream for their mother after being kicked by Daigle.
Daigle has been held in the Miller County jail since his arrest in August 2020. He will be required to register as a sex offender upon release from prison.