HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — A 36-year-old Hot Springs man is facing charges that carry up to life in prison after allegedly sending explicit messages and videos to what he believed was a 13-year-old girl and showing up to meet her at a Sonic Drive-In on Malvern Avenue, according to court records filed in Garland County Circuit Court.
Zachary Scott Deaton, of the 100 block of Stanage Drive in Hot Springs, is charged with internet stalking of a child, a Class Y felony punishable by 10 to 40 years or life in prison, and electronic facilitation of child sexual abuse, a Class B felony carrying 5 to 20 years and a fine of up to $15,000. Prosecuting Attorney Michelle C. Lawrence of the 18th Judicial District East filed the felony information Aug. 4 in case 26CR-26-640.
Deaton was arrested July 24 and his bond was set at $250,000, court records show.
Under Arkansas law, internet stalking of a child is elevated from a Class B to a Class Y felony — the state’s most serious felony classification — when the defendant arranges a meeting with a child, or someone he believes to be a child, and the meeting actually takes place, even if no sexual contact occurs.
The undercover operation
According to a probable cause affidavit sworn by Hot Springs Police Detective Chris McGlone, the case began July 1 when Inv. Jason McDonald of the Pike County Sheriff’s Office accessed an undercover social media account portraying a 13-year-old girl, part of an effort to identify adults attempting inappropriate contact with minors. The account received an initial message from a profile under the name “Zachary Deaton.”
After the decoy responded, communication resumed July 7, and the affidavit says Deaton immediately began requesting photographs and sent a full-body image of himself wearing only a towel. He then began sending voice messages. When asked his age, he said he was 36 and from Hot Springs. After being told the decoy was 13, Deaton replied “oh my bad” but continued communicating, the affidavit states.
Over the following weeks, investigators say, Deaton repeatedly requested photographs, assured the decoy that no one would see his phone, and escalated to sending nude photographs and sexually explicit videos of himself, including videos showing his face and full body. The affidavit states he made repeated, graphic sexual statements directed at the minor decoy and said he wanted photographs of her for sexual gratification.
On July 17, after the decoy said she would be in Hot Springs with a friend, Deaton asked about the friend, wrote “do yall wanna see me,” suggested they “get naked at the water,” and ultimately requested a sexual encounter with both underage girls, according to the affidavit.
The arrest
On July 20, the decoy told Deaton she would be attending a school summer event in Hot Springs. Deaton noted there was a Sonic near the location and said he wanted to meet there, the affidavit states.
Four days later, at about 1:25 p.m. on July 24, Deaton entered the parking lot of the Sonic at 3701 Malvern Ave., after telling the decoy he would be wearing black shorts and no shirt. Inv. McDonald, Det. McGlone and a special agent watched Deaton walk onto the property and approach an unmarked police vehicle before Hot Springs police took him into custody.
A black cellphone seized during the arrest was searched under a warrant executed Aug. 27. According to the warrant return, investigators extracted 21.8 gigabytes of data, including chat logs, pictures, videos, geographical locations, social media apps and device data.
Booking records list Deaton as unemployed for about a year, with no prior felony convictions.
Deaton is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
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