Paragould man pleads guilty after DNA links him to sexual assault

PARAGOULD, Ark. (KAIT) – A Paragould man who DNA investigators linked him to a reported rape two years ago will not go to prison.

On Monday, Oct. 22, Second Judicial Circuit Court Judge Melissa Richardson sentenced Jason Rowland, 22, to 60 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree sexual assault.

Paragould police arrested Rowland in February of this year after they said DNA testing linked him to an alleged 2022 rape.

On October 4, 2022, officers went to the emergency room at Arkansas Methodist Medical Center, where the victim said Rowland “had sex with them while they were intoxicated and did not not consented to the act,” the affidavit states.

During a Mirandised interview at the police station a week later, Rowland allegedly “made self-incriminating statements”. He also agreed to a DNA sample.

Her DNA sample, along with the sexual assault collection kit, was sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for analysis.

On February 6, 2024, police received the lab report which allegedly “identified Jason Rowland as the contributor to the DNA profile found on the sexual assault kit with scientific certainty.”

In addition to five years of SIS, the judge ordered Rowland to pay a $1,000 fine and all court costs in monthly installments of $50. He must also register as a sex offender and have no contact with the victim.

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