Former judge, defense attorney, sentenced to seven years in federal prison for possession of child pornography

LITTLE ROCK—A man who has served as a county judge, prosecutor, and criminal defense attorney was sentenced to federal prison for possession of child pornography. On Wednesday, United States District Court Judge Billy Roy Wilson sentenced Daniel Arthur Stewart, 54, of Fort Smith, to 84 months in prison with 10 years of supervised release to follow. There is no parole in the federal system.
Stewart was originally indicted on January 8, 2019, on charges of attempting to entice a child to engage in sexual activity following an investigation into conduct that occurred between February 1, 2016, and March 19, 2016. On June 8, 2023, Stewart pleaded guilty to a superseding information that charged him with possession of child pornography related to the conduct.
The investigation revealed that on February 1, 2016, a Faulkner County police officer with an undercover profile answered an ad posted on Craigslist. The ad was searching for contact with a “young guy” or “son.” The undercover profile was that of a 42-year-old male with a 13-year-old son. The undercover officer responded to the ad by inquiring if the poster was interested in “family play,” a term commonly used to describe sexual contact between family combinations such as father/son or mother/daughter. When the poster responded positively, the communication then continued on Kik, which is an online messaging platform. The poster’s contact photo was identified as Stewart. A sexually explicit conversation followed that led Stewart indicating he would reserve a hotel room in Fort Smith for the purpose of Stewart having sex with the 13-year-old on March 19, 2016.

When Stewart entered the lobby of the Hampton Inn, he was taken into custody. Following Stewart’s arrest, law enforcement executed a search warrant at his residence and seized numerous electronic devices. On those devices, law enforcement found videos containing visual depictions of sexually explicit conduct involving minors, including oral sex and anal penetration between minors and between minors and adults.
Stewart previously worked in the Sebastian County prosecutor’s office before serving as Sebastian County District Court Judge in Fort Smith. Following his time on the bench Stewart also worked as a public defender for Crawford County and more recently for Sebastian County.
The case was investigated by the FBI and Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Crews.