Sheriff: Sex offender said he will ‘rape the first woman he sees’

A sex offender in Arkansas allegedly told medical personnel he would “rape the first woman he sees” upon being released from the hospital, authorities said.

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John Mark West, 38, was convicted in 1996 of raping a 4-year-old girl, the Hempstead County Sheriff Jim Singleton said in a Facebook post.

West was arrested April 26 in Hope on a disorderly conduct charge, and was taken to a Little Rock hospital for an evaluation. West told authorities he was living in Hope but was homeless.

West is mentally ill but is stable when he’s on medication, Singleton said.

West was scheduled to be released from the hospital on Monday. Singleton made a Facebook post ahead of West’s release warning the public of threats West had made.

“He (West) is telling the hospital personnel that he will not stay on his medication, when he walks out of the hospital,” Singleton said in the post. “He is also telling the hospital staff that he will rape the first woman he sees so he can come back to (jail). West reported that he has previously had command hallucinations that told him to rape a woman.”

The Sheriff's Office's Facebook page later made an update saying West had been arrested again after his release from the hospital. Online jail records show West was arrested on a disorderly conduct charge. The Facebook update noted that West will remain jailed until he's released by a judge.

West’s current status is unclear.

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