LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas man who previously served as a county judge, prosecutor, and criminal defense attorney has been sentenced to federal prison for the possession of child sexual abuse material.
According to reports, 54-year-old Daniel Arthur Stewart of Fort Smith was sentenced to 84 months in prison with 10 years of supervision following immediately after, with no possibility of parole.
He was originally indicted in January 2019 on charges of attempting to 'entice a child to engage in sexual activity' after an investigation was done into conduct that happened between February 1 and March 19, 2016.
Years later, in June 2023, Stewart pleaded guilty to information that charged him with the possession of child sexual abuse material in relation to the conduct.
An investigation showed that in February, a Faulkner County officer with an undercover profile answered an ad on Craigslist that searched for 'contact with a young guy or son.' The undercover officer inquired whether the poster was interested in meeting up with what he thought would be a 43-year-old man and his 13-year-old son.
The poster then responded positively, and a sexually explicit conversation continued on an online messaging platform. This is where the contact photo was discovered to be Mr. Stewart. The conversation continued and indicated that Stewart would reserve a hotel room with the 'purpose of having intercourse with the minor.'
When he arrived at the lobby of the hotel, police immediately took him into custody.
Police had a warrant to search his home and during the search, they found several electronics where they found multiple videos containing child sexual abuse material.
Stewart previously worked at the Sebastian County prosecutor's office before he served as Sebastian County District Court Judge in Fort Smith. He also worked as a public defender in Crawford County and most recently he worked in Sebastian County.
