Arkansas Senate president pro tem calls for resignation of board of corrections member accused in Lord's Ranch suits
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The president pro tempore of the Arkansas Senate is calling for the resignation of a Board of Corrections member over lawsuit allegations claiming he covered up sexual abuse of children.
Sen. Bart Hester (R-Cave Springs) called for board member Alonza Jiles to step down in a letter dated Friday, adding that his call comes after finding out about Jiles being named in a lawsuit alleging abuse at The Lord’s Ranch, a Randolph County youth treatment center, over a decade ago.
Several lawsuits have been filed against the facility, with allegations of staff members molesting children and Jiles, the then-deputy administrator for the facility, allegedly not responding to abuse complaints. Jiles has been named as a defendant in the suits.
The ranch operated from 1976 to 2016 but was shut down after its director was found guilty of Medicaid fraud in a bribery scheme.
The lawsuits were filed in November 2023 and are still in pre-trial discovery. Court records show a trial date has not been set.
Hester’s letter calling for the resignation cites the lawsuit and claims Jiles' alleged behavior “grossly undermines the public's confidence” in corrections programs in Arkansas.
“Not only is Mr. Jiles alleged to have enabled and concealed reprehensible acts against children, he is alleged to have done so while working in a position of leadership and trust,” Hester stated in his letter. “His continued service in a public position of leadership and trust is therefore not only inappropriate, it is insulting to those he is alleged to have harmed. And it grossly undermines the public's confidence in the Board of Corrections and its State Government.”
Hester’s call for resignation comes during an ongoing back-and-forth between the governor's office and the board regarding prison capacity, which began in November 2023.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders had called for more beds to be added, which the board did not fully grant claiming issues with staffing adequacy. What followed was a series of events culminating in the board voting to fire the Sanders-appointed Secretary of Corrections Joe Profiri, while the attorney general filed lawsuits against the board for procedural violations.
Jiles was appointed to the board for a seven-year term due to expire Dec. 31, 2027. By law, the governor may not remove a board member.
Other elected officials, including Attorney General Tim Griffin and Sen. Ben Gilmore (R-Crossett), have called for Jiles' resignation due to the lawsuit allegations.
KARK 4 News reached out to the board of corrections for comment by Jiles but had not received a reply prior to this story being published. This story will be updated if a reply is received.
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