An El Dorado man was sentenced to five years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections this week following a trial in which he faced charges including second-degree sexual assault and sexual indecency with a child.
Semajee Dismuke, 26, faced trial on Tuesday, March 26 and Wednesday, March 27. Dismuke was represented by attorney Andrew Best, according to court records, and 13th Judicial District deputy prosecuting attorney Gregory Thomas led the prosecution along with deputy prosecuting attorney Carla Gibson.
Dismuke, according to court records, was arrested and charged in October 2022 after a local woman told police Dismuke sexually assaulted her eight-year-old child. The subsequent investigation included a forensic interview with the victim and an interview with the victim's mother.
The victim's mother told investigators that Dismuke was only alone once with the victim, after he volunteered to watch over the children while the victim's mother was at work and the normal babysitter was not available.
The jury found Dismuke guilty on both counts on Wednesday, and Dismuke, who has no prior convictions, was sentenced to five years in prison for second-degree sexual assault and one year in prison for sexual indecency with a child to run concurrently, resulting in a sentence of five years in prison.
The trial was held in Judge Spencer Singleton's 13th Circuit, Division 6 courtroom.