Wife tries to frame husband with child porn, Arkansas cops say. But her plan backfired

An Arkansas woman who told police that her husband had child pornography and raped her teenage daughter must register as a sex offender and serve six years of probation, according to court documents.

Cherie Renee Bolton, 34, of Siloam Springs, Arkansas, met with a detective in May 2017 to report that her husband possessed child porn, according to a probable cause affidavit. She showed the detective images on a cellphone depicting underage children in sexual acts and sexually suggestive clothing, police said. Bolton also said her husband sexually assaulted her 13-year-old daughter, according to police.

Police took the cellphone to perform forensic testing, and they interviewed the girl, who said her father never sexually abused her and that she feels safe with him.

About a four months later, detectives interviewed Bolton and her husband, police said. The husband denied any knowledge of child pornography on his cellphone.

Bolton, meanwhile, told detectives that she didn’t remember finding child pornography or even reporting an alleged sexual assault, according to the affidavit. She told detectives that if her husband denied the sexual assault, then that was true because he doesn’t lie, police said.

Then Bolton said she remembered what happened and just didn’t want to talk about it, according to police.

“Bolton became visibly upset as her lip was trembling, her eyes were watery, and she placed her head down repeatedly,” according to the affidavit.

Finally, Bolton said she downloaded the pictures because she was upset her husband wouldn’t let her see the children after she was kicked out of their apartment, according to the affidavit. She told detectives she had downloaded the pictures while she was using meth and in the middle of a manic episode, police said.

Bolton pleaded guilty Monday to possession of child pornography and filing a false police report, documents show. A Benton County, Arkansas, judge ordered Bolton to pay fines and fees, register as a sex offender and serve six years of probation without the possibility of a shortened sentence, according to court documents.

This story was originally published July 3, 2019 at 10:13 AM with the headline "Wife tries to frame husband with child porn, Arkansas cops say. But her plan backfired."