Despite an increase in cases, Burnett believes child abuse still is under reported.
“People don t want to talk about it, and they keep it secret, they think that it s shameful and so it s not talked about, it’s talked about more now than it used to be,” Burnett said.
Sexual abuse of a child is more likely to be like a recent case in Oklahoma involving Michael David Jackson. He was found guilty of abusing a child under the age of 12. The child was a close relative of Jacksons. The parents of the child relied on Jackson to take care of their child while they were at work.
Updated: 4:12 PM CDT June 30, 2021
FORT SMITH, Ark. A former youth church volunteer in Fort Smith has pled guilty to two counts of sexually assaulting minors. He was sentenced to 20 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction plus an additional 10 year suspended sentence.
Isiah Thompson was arrested in November of 2020 after being accused of having sexual relationships with minors when volunteering to help with youth at the Christ for the World church.
According to an affidavit released at the time of his arrest, on January 30, 2020, a church member went to the Fort Smith Police Department to report that another church member had engaged in inappropriate sexual activity with a minor.