A 42-year-old Marion County man recently sentenced to 30 years in federal prison followed by 20 years of supervised release on charges stemming from him having sex with a juvenile female while they both lived in a cave appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court this week.
Isaac James Melder of Yellville pled guilty to a federal charge of enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity in July. This week, Melder pled guilty to state charges in his Baxter and Marion County cases. He was sentenced to 15 years in state prison. The time was suspended based on his federal sentence.
In the probable cause statement for the Marion County charges, last May the female victim is reported to have admitted she had walked from her middle school in Mountain Home to a pre-arranged destination to meet Melder and go to the cave in Marion County where they lived for the next six weeks during which the major search effort was being carried on to find the girl who was then listed as a missing person.
The complete recap of the case can be found on the KTLO Website.
(Adapted from original story from KTLO)
Neno's Place Serving Special Dish Tonight
Murder Charges to be Dismissed Against Rocky Dodson
Crawdad Days Gets Underway
