Van Buren Man Pleads Guilty to Interstate Minor Sex Transport

Fort Smith, Arkansas – Clarence C. Garretson, a 65-year-old Van Buren resident, has pleaded guilty to five counts of Interstate Transportation of Minors for Sexual Activity in the United States District Court in Fort Smith.

The charges stem from a shocking revelation by a minor female (Minor #1) who disclosed that she had been raped by Garretson during a multi-state trucking trip in 2014. At the time, Garretson was employed as an over-the-road truck driver for C & T Trucking and had legally accompanied the child, then ten years old.

Garretson’s plea agreement stipulates that he transported the minor with intent to engage in sexual activity, resulting in rape, a Class Y felony. The investigation revealed Garretson’s dark past, as the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) had previously approved him and his wife for foster care and adoption, which Garretson exploited.

Further investigation led to the discovery that a foster child (Minor #2), who resided with Garretson from 2000 to 2004, was also sexually assaulted on multiple over-the-road trips. Minor #3, legally adopted by the Garretsons in 2001, disclosed sexual assaults during summer vacation truck trips between 2002 and 2003. Lastly, Minor #5, a foster child until 2004, reported being sexually assaulted during an over-the-road trip to California when she was 13 years old.

The plea agreement also acknowledges that Garretson was in control of these minors during the transportation for the purposes of sexual activity, with the charges including Violation of a Minor in the First Degree, a Class C felony. The justice system has now held Garretson accountable for his heinous crimes against innocent children.