Ex-Arkansas prison chaplain pleads guilty to sex assault
NEWPORT, Ark. -- A former Arkansas women's prison chaplain accused of coercing inmates into sex acts has pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault.
Prosecuting Attorney Henry Boyce says 67-year-old Kenneth Dewitt pleaded guilty on Tuesday in Jackson County Circuit Court. Boyce says Dewitt agreed to three concurrent 10-year prison sentences with five years suspended on each count. Formal sentencing is set for Aug. 3.
Dewitt used to be the prison chaplain at the Arkansas Department of Correction's McPherson Women's Unit. He resigned in September 2014 after acknowledging a sexual relationship with a subordinate in the chaplain's office.
A subsequent Arkansas State Police investigation uncovered three female inmates with whom Dewitt had sexual relations while he served as chaplain.