Arkansas Pastor Sentenced to 50 Years for Raping His Minor Children

A former Arkansas pastor has pleaded guilty to three counts of rape involving his minor children and been sentenced to 50 years in prison, according to a statement released yesterday by Arkansas authorities.

As part of a negotiated plea agreement, James “Jamie” Cowan, 46, pleaded guilty to raping minors on Nov. 12, according to a statement released by Jana Bradford, Arkansas prosecutor for the 9th West District. In addition to his 50-year sentence, Cowan also received 30 years of a suspended sentence upon release.

Cowan must serve at least 70% of his sentence or 35 years, Bradford said. This would make Cowan 81-years old at the time of release, “effectively making this sentence a life term,” Bradford added.

The decision to offer a plea deal was made after consideration of the victims’ wishes, “ensuring they would not have to endure the further trauma of testifying in a court trial,” Bradford said.

In a motion for a bond reduction, Cowan says he is a pastor. The Arkansas Justice Project’s Post reported Cowan is the former pastor of the Little River Community Church and a TikTok video said the church was in Winthrop, Arkansas.

The Roys Report could not find a phone number or other contact information for the church online.

According to the Arkansas Justice Project, “All [the victims] are slowly recovering but are lagging behind in educational milestones because the home schooling that was alleged to be taking place was not happening in any meaningful way. Through no fault of their own they must also recover from educational neglect along with the trauma.”

One of the victims reported the abuse, the Arkansas Justice Project reported.

“This was all made possible when one of the victims spoke out. Without her incredible courage, getting these kids to safety might have been prolonged or never happened,” the post states.

Statement by Jana Bradford, Arkansas prosecutor for the 9th West District