PARAGOULD, Ark. — A defendant whose rape and incest charges were dismissed Friday due to prosecutors being unable to locate the alleged juvenile victims was later arrested the same day on a separate rape charge in Greene County.
Lee Arthur Banis, 46, was booked into the Greene County Detention Center at 7:33 p.m. on Aug. 14 following his arrest by the Paragould Police Department. He faces one count of rape, a Class Y felony, and one count of second-degree sexual assault, a Class B felony. As of Tuesday morning, Banis was being held without bond, according to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office.
The newly filed case did not arise from recent events but rather allegations dating back several years. According to a Greene County affidavit, the investigation began on Oct. 21, 2025, when Paragould police received a report from a juvenile alleging sexual abuse. During an interview with an Arkansas State Police Crimes Against Children Division investigator, the juvenile described assaults that investigators classified as rape and second-degree sexual assault and identified Banis as the alleged perpetrator.
A second individual interviewed the next day corroborated portions of the juvenile’s account, the affidavit stated. A Greene County District Court judge authorized an arrest warrant for Banis on Oct. 30, 2025, after determining there was probable cause. At that time, Banis was already in custody in Craighead County on unrelated rape and incest charges involving two juvenile relatives.
In the earlier Craighead County case, prosecutors alleged Banis had committed multiple offenses against family members. Circuit Judge Tommy Fowler had set Banis’ bond at $500,000 cash or surety and ordered him to wear a GPS ankle monitor and have no contact with the alleged victims. Banis remained in custody until Aug. 14, 2026, when court records show the charges were dismissed at the request of Second Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Sonia F. Hagood.
In the dismissal filing, prosecutors stated they were unable to locate the victims, despite multiple attempts to communicate with them, including several scheduled appointments that were missed. An in-person visit to the victims’ last known address found the home abandoned. Further investigation indicated the victims’ mother had reportedly taken them out of the state without providing new contact information, prosecutors said, noting efforts to locate the family through outside resources were unsuccessful. The filing emphasized that the charges were dismissed because the victims could not be located and did not indicate that authorities believed the original allegations were untrue.
Following the dismissal, Banis was transferred to Greene County, where the warrant for the separate rape case was still active. Prosecutors allege the incidents in that case occurred between April 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025.
All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.