Man arrested for inappropriate sexual contact with underage woman

A man accused of having sex with an underage girl was arrested in Baxter County.

Gary Dale Robertson, 55, who lists a room at the Mountain Home Inn as his address, was booked into the Baxter County Detention Center last Tuesday on multiple counts of second-degree sexual assault and sexual abuse of a child.

Robertson’s recent arrest came after the Mountain Home Police Department (MHPD) received a report that the victim told his mother she did not want to be around Robertson because he had “touched her inappropriately.”

The victim said the unwanted activity continued for about a year, despite her multiple requests for it to stop. She said Robertson told her not to tell anyone what was going on because he would “get in trouble.”

Robertson was registered as a sex offender on multiple occasions with both the Mountain Home Police Department and the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office.

He is accused of making address changes without reporting them during the period of his registration, which led to two arrests and two criminal charges.

According to court records, he was first required to register after he was convicted of raping a 17-year-old in Missouri in 2009.

Court records show that Robertson never diligently complied with sex offender registration requirements, particularly when it came to providing his place of residence.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed in 2015, he was accused of moving to Baxter County without registering with local authorities.

In early December 2015, the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office received a complaint that an unregistered sex offender was living in the Buford area. When investigators spoke with the home’s owners, they said Robertson was living with them along with his “wife” and three children. The owner said he “evicted” Robertson’s family members shortly after they moved into his home.

Court records show that Robertson was still registered as a resident of a residence on Wells Road in Bald Knob at the time and that he had failed to register his move to Baxter County within the 10-day period required by law.

In the 2015 case, Robertson was sentenced to three years probation.

In early January 2022, Robertson was arrested again after it was discovered that he had moved again without reporting the change.

He pleaded guilty to failure to comply with registration/reporting requirements, a Class C felony, and was again sentenced to three years probation.

Because of his classification, Robertson’s name does not currently appear on any publicly available local sex offender lists.

He has been classified by the state as a “low” Level 2 offender, and the law does not allow offenders of this type to be listed on publicly available lists.

A low level 2 offender has a “moderate” rate of recidivism. They are typically individuals with a limited or circumscribed history of sexual activity, who have some antisocial personality traits, predatory tendencies, or deviant sexual interests or behavior patterns that may increase the overall risk level these offenders pose. They may have mild or well-controlled mental disorders and/or developmental disabilities.

A downgrade to a higher level is possible if a person’s criminal record justifies such a change.

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