Suspected rapist ordered to prison on drug charges, then sentenced to 35 years for rape

(Originally Posted 1-10-08)
James Clayton Solomon, a physical fitness instructor whose training business goes by the ironically named Bodies For Christ, was ordered to report back to prison on or before April 2nd to serve a 5 year term in a federal prison facility after a hearing Monday (January 7) in the U.S. District Court in Fort Smith .

Solomon, convicted in federal court of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance in 1999, was placed on supervised release back in 2005. One condition of supervised relase is not to break any other laws, state or federal.

The Ft. Smith (AR) Times-Record's Accused Sex Offender Must Return To Prison has more:

However, Solomon ran into trouble last summer in connection with allegations that he raped or sexually assaulted several women at his personal training business, Bodies for Christ.

Solomon was charged June 12 in Washington County with two counts of rape after two women said they were attacked at his gym in Springdale. On a petition to revoke his release, he was arrested and set for a federal detention hearing nine days later in Fort Smith. On June 21, the same day he was released on $50,000 signature bond, a warrant was issued for his arrest in Crawford County on suspicion of two incidents of second-degree sexual assault alleged to have occurred at his Van Buren gym. Federal probation officers filed a supplemental petition to revoke, adding the new allegations to the previous ones listed.

Solomon was placed on home electonic monitoring after his release on bond. At the hearing, three of four accusers, federal probation officers, detectives and several defense character witnesses testified.

In the Washington County incidents, one woman said she was raped Feb. 11, when she went to interview for a job at Solomon’s gym. The other said she was raped Nov. 14, 2006, when she went to his gym to discuss her fitness goals with him.

In the Crawford County incidents, Van Buren policedetective Steve Weaver said a Hackett woman, who madeher report over the phone and was never available afterward, said Solomon touched her inappropriately at his Van Buren gym in January 2007. Weaver said a Fort Smith woman reported a similar incident as occurring in February 2007.The latter woman testified, but was unclear on the stand as to whether she was assaulted in February 2006 or 2007. She said the incident occurred when she went to see Solomon about buying a cheap car he had offered to help her obtain.

Federal Prosecutor Kyra Jenner stated witness tampering may have occured after one of the alleged victims stated she was promised a car in exchange for not testifying.

District Judge Robert T. Dawson declined to consider the question, but at the end of the hearing, he expressed concern about witness tampering. In revoking Solomon’s release, Dawson found the defendant guilty of the both new law violations alleged — the June 12 rape charges and the June 21 warrant on sexual assault charges.

Solomon will be credited with time served on electronic monitoring.

(Update 5-12-08) Soloman ran from Arkansas to the Los Angeles area, where he started a new job as a fitness trainer. He was arrested there in April, and returned to Oklahoma. The trial for the rape charges will be in July. He's being held in the Washington County Jail.

(Update 7-13-08) Soloman was sentenced to 35 years in prison for the rape of the 25 year old fitness trainer that the charges were for, and 15 years for the failure to appear charge. The rape charge and 10 years of the failure to appear charge will run consecutively, so that means Soloman will spend a total of 45 years in prison, barring early release. More details about how Soloman groomed the victim were aired - the rape occured after he met the victim, a fellow fitness instructor, at a Wal-Mart, and he set up a "job interview," where he then held her down on the floor and raped her.

Circuit Judge Kim Smith sentenced Soloman immediately. The rape sentence and 10 years of the failure to appear sentence will run consecutively. The remaining five years will run concurrently."I think, under the circumstances, 35 years is an appropriate sentence," Smith said.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Charles Duell said running the sentences concurrently would have provided no punishment for Soloman fleeing justice."The bottom line is the jury did the right thing," Duell said.

Soloman was somewhat argumentative with the judge during sentencing. Afterward, Soloman spoke with his mother and daughter as he was escorted by deputies out of the courtroom."I love you, baby," he told the daughter. She sat in the hallway floor sobbing after he was gone.

According to Duell, Soloman targheted vulnerable women, and faces federal charges for violating his federal probation. Charges are pending in other Arkansas counties, and other women who were raped declined to press charges.