PARAGOULD, Ark. — A defendant whose rape and incest charges were dismissed Friday after prosecutors said they could no longer locate the juvenile victims was booked later that same day in Greene County on a separate rape warrant.
Lee Arthur Banis was booked into the Greene County Detention Center at 7:33 p.m. Aug. 14 following his arrest by the Paragould Police Department.
Banis faces one count of rape, a Class Y felony, and one count of second-degree sexual assault, a Class B felony. The Greene County Sheriff’s Office roster listed him as being held without bond Tuesday morning.
The separate case does not stem from conduct alleged after Friday’s dismissal. The Greene County affidavit was signed and an arrest warrant was authorized in October 2025, while Banis was being held in the earlier Craighead County case.
The affidavit alleges the conduct occurred between April 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025.
Paragould police received a report Oct. 21, 2025, concerning a juvenile who had disclosed sexual abuse. During an interview with an Arkansas State Police Crimes Against Children Division investigator, the juvenile described conduct investigators said constituted rape and second-degree sexual assault and identified Banis as the alleged offender.
Another person was interviewed the following day and corroborated portions of the juvenile’s disclosure, according to the affidavit. A Greene County District Court judge found probable cause Oct. 30, 2025, and authorized a warrant for Banis’ arrest.
At the time, Banis was already being held in Craighead County after his arrest on two counts of rape and one count of incest. Judge Tommy Fowler had set his bond at $500,000 cash or surety and ordered him to have no contact with the alleged victims and wear a GPS ankle monitor.
The Craighead County case involved allegations concerning two juvenile relatives. Banis had remained in custody until Friday, when the office of Second Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Sonia F. Hagood requested that the charges be dismissed through an order of nolle prosequi.
According to the dismissal filing, prosecutors made multiple attempts to meet with the victims and scheduled several appointments that the victims did not attend. An attempted in-person visit found their residence abandoned.
Prosecutors said further investigation indicated the victims’ mother had taken the children out of Arkansas without leaving contact information. The filing said outside resources were used in an unsuccessful effort to locate the victims or their mother.
Philhours granted the prosecution’s request and dismissed the Craighead County charges. The filing cited prosecutors’ inability to locate the victims; it did not state that authorities had determined the allegations were false.
Banis was subsequently taken into custody in the separate Paragould case.
All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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