PARAGOULD, Ark. — Second Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Sonia F. Hagood announced that on September 25, 2025, the Arkansas Supreme Court vacated a prior decision of the Arkansas Court of Appeals and affirmed the conviction and 80-year prison sentence of Santiago Vasquez, Jr.
In February 2024, following a three-day trial, a Greene County jury convicted Vasquez of five counts of Rape of a minor child. Judge Randy Philhours sentenced him to 80 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
The Court of Appeals later reversed the conviction, but Attorney General Tim Griffin petitioned the Arkansas Supreme Court for review. Today, the Supreme Court reinstated the conviction, finding that any trial error was harmless in light of the “overwhelming” evidence of guilt.
The case was prosecuted by Prosecuting Attorney Sonia F. Hagood and Deputy Prosecutors Adam Butler and Wesley Watts.
“This result is a direct product of the tireless efforts of everyone involved in this case, but most notably, the victim,” said Deputy Prosecutor Adam Butler. “Her bravery throughout this lengthy process has been remarkable. It is because of her courage that Santiago Vasquez, Jr. will spend the rest of his life in prison, exactly where he belongs.”
Police arrested Vasquez in 2019 after a report to the Arkansas Child Abuse Hotline. A forensic interview revealed multiple rapes, and jurors later heard explicit testimony from the victim, expert testimony from a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, and evidence linking Vasquez’s DNA to an adult device used in the assaults. Child pornography recovered from Vasquez’s phone corroborated the victim’s testimony.
Today’s ruling caps years of litigation. Vasquez was first convicted in 2021 and sentenced to 25 years, but the Arkansas Court of Appeals reversed that verdict on an evidentiary technicality. A second trial in 2023 ended in a mistrial when the jury deadlocked 11–1 in favor of guilt. In the third trial, held in February 2024, Vasquez was convicted and sentenced to 80 years.
“This is why we fight,” said Prosecuting Attorney Sonia F. Hagood. “This trilogy of trials reflects the State’s persistence in seeking justice for victims of sexual abuse. Today’s Supreme Court decision echoes the decisions of two Greene County juries and finally ends a long, painful journey for the victim, who courageously testified in all three trials.”
Hagood also thanked the Attorney General’s Office, particularly Deputy AG Walker Hawkins for handling the appeal, Captain Rhonda Thomas for leading the investigation, and the jurors for their service in a deeply difficult case.
With today’s decision, Santiago Vasquez will serve his 80-year sentence in the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
Read more: Vasquez_v._State
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