June 20, 2025
BEE BRANCH, Ark. — On Monday, June 16, 2025, Derek Horney, 40, pled guilty to Rape in Van Buren County Circuit Court, where Judge H.G. Foster sentenced him to 50 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
One year earlier, an investigator with the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office (VBCSO) requested that the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division assist in a sexual assault investigation that had been reported to VBCSO. The victim was abused between the ages of 10 and 14 in Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Horney was arrested on June 12, 2024.