Arkansas Mayor Out on Bond After Sex-for-Water Charge

WALDRON, Ark. – An affidavit supporting charges against Waldron's mayor — accused of soliciting two women for sex after they fell behind on their water bills — says the two women wore recording devices during encounters with the mayor.

Mayor Troy Anderson, 72, was released on a signature bond Wednesday in an appearance before Judge Donald Goodner, who said Anderson was not a flight risk, according to the Scott County Circuit Clerk's Office. Goodner set an arraignment for July 6.

Anderson did not return calls seeking comment Tuesday and Wednesday.

He is charged with two felony counts of abuse of public trust and four misdemeanor counts of patronizing a prostitute.

An affidavit supporting the charges says that, in January, a woman who said she had refused Anderson's requests for sex went to the mayor for help in getting her granddaughter out of state Department of Health and Human Services custody. The mayor told the woman he might be able to help, and that she should meet him at an apartment, the affidavit said.

The woman wore a recording device when she met Anderson at the apartment, and Anderson offered her $100 for sex, the affidavit said. She said the mayor grabbed her and exposed himself.

Another woman told investigators that she'd been having sex with Anderson for money for the past eight to 10 years. She said Anderson paid her $25 per encounter and that he allowed her to change the name on her overdue water bill, which kept her water turned on, the affidavit said.

The mayor also gave the woman $60 to pay a late water deposit in exchange for sex, the affidavit said. The woman's bill was $617 overdue, the affidavit said.

In February, the second woman wore a recording device when Anderson picked her up for a sexual encounter that netted her $20, authorities said.