River Arts District sexual assaults: Greenarch pleads guilty in deal with prosecutors

ASHEVILLE - Michael Eugene Greenarch Jr., who was facing multiple felony charges on alleged sexual assaults from January 2021 and three additional felony sex offenses dating to 2016, reached a plea deal July 5 in Buncombe County Superior Court.

Greenarch, who had been living in Haywood County before his arrest, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree forcible rape, one count of second-degree forcible sex offense, one count of first-degree forcible sex offense and one count of attempted first-degree forcible sex offense.

As part of the plea arrangement, the following charges were not included: two felony counts of first-degree kidnapping and two counts of felonious restraint and one count of first-degree forcible sex offense.

He will serve a minimum of 336 months to 464 months in jail, or between 28-38.6 years. Superior Court judge Gregory Horn imposed the sentence.

These are related to cases involving five women spanning 2016-2021. Greenarch will also have to register as a sex offender for life, and once he gets out of prison, will serve 10 years of satellite ankle monitoring.

More: Greenarch indicted on more rape charges after women come forward

More: Two more women come forward in Greenarch case, question speed of police investigation

The January 2021 attacks occurred in or near the River Arts District. Two Asheville women came forward later to say Greenarch, who had been arrested for the RAD attacks, is the same man who attacked them in 2016.

Shirley Knight, 55, a survivor of one of Greenarch's attacks, spoke to the Citizen Times after the sentencing July 5. She was sexually assaulted at knifepoint by Greenarch in January 2021 in the River Arts District, where he forced her into his truck.

"He held the knife to my throat. He was snatching at my clothes, snatching at my hair," Knight said. “He told me I was going to die. So I did everything I could to get out of that truck.”

As for the sentencing, Knight said, “I feel OK with it. Really, I wish he’d gotten more but I’m happy with it – at least he ain’t on the streets.”

Greenarch was charged with multiple felonies in those cases, as well as in another similar sexual assault case dating to 2017 that occurred in the same vicinity.

Greenarch, of Clyde, had been in the Buncombe County Detention Facility on a $550,834 secured bond.

Assistant District Attorney David Denninger said "justice was done."

In terms of why the case was not taken to trial, he said it was a complex decision that can involve availability of witnesses and certainty of evidence. Denninger also said all five victims were satisfied with the length of the sentence, and he noted that the plea agreement meant they did not have to testify in court, which he said can be very difficult for victims.

"One of the unfortunate aspects of the criminal justice system is that the witness has to come to court, see the accused and testify about one of the worst things that's every happened to them and then be scrutinized by another lawyer," he said. "He'll ask leading questions, try to trip them up and try to paint them as a prostitute who is not worthy of sympathy and who is not credible and who has some ulterior motive. They have to endure all of those things, and that really sucks and can really not be fun for them."

Denninger was not referring to any specific victim.

Denninger praised the Asheville Police Department, Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s office for their persistence in the case and putting the clues together. While some victims, including two former sex workers, were critical of law enforcement officers for initially not pursuing their cases more vigorously, Denninger said officers had to establish patterns and similarities in Greenarch's attacks over a number of years.

Denninger also noted that one hallmark of the crimes was Greenarch's callousness toward the victims, and his use of a large knife. In one case, after sexually assaulting a woman, he kept her clothes, leaving her naked in the street.

She pleaded for her clothing, and Greenarch threw them out the vehicle window onto the road.

On Jan. 20, 2021, Greenarch assaulted two women on the same day in the area of the River Arts District. In the second assault of the day, Greenarch told the women in his truck, "The worst thing you can do is reach for that door handle," Denninger said.

Greenarch kissed the now-naked woman and digitally penetrated her.

"Once finished, the defendant instructed (the victim) to leave the vehicle, while still naked, and swim across the French Broad River,” Denninger said. “(The victim), fearing for her life, ran from the vehicle and did swim across the river naked, in January.”

Another victim who provided a victim impact statement to the court, former sex worker Samantha Ashe, referred to Greenarch as a "predator" and a "sick" human being. She was assaulted in 2016.

Denninger read both statements in court.

Ashe said in her statement that she continues to have nightmares and flashbacks related to the attack.

"The worst thing is he did this to other women," Ashe said in her statement.

Denninger said he was leaving out part of Ashe's statement that expressed her wishes that bad things that might happen to Greenarch in prison. Ashe, sitting in the courtroom, laughed at this point.

Court proceedings showed Greenarch has just a ninth-grade education, and he left Reynolds High School after that. A father of two grown children, Greenarch worked in construction and in relief cleanup after natural disasters such as hurricanes.

Asheville attorney Jack Stewart represented Greenarch in the July 5 proceedings. Greenarch did not speak, other than to confirm he was pleading guilty to the charges willingly and is of sound mind and judgment.

Stewart chided Ashe for her noticeable laughter in the courtroom.

"This is not something we take lightly, and it’s certainly not a plea we take lightly,” Stewart said. “Contrary to that public outburst we heard from Miss Ashe a minute ago, there’s nothing funny or light-hearted about this plea or about the consequences of this plea."

Stewart noted that Greenarch, at age 46, likely may never walk free again.

“There’s a good prospect he will likely die in custody before he ever sees the light of day,” Stewart said. “So it’s not something we take lightly.”

Judge Horn noted that Greenarch will receive credit for 530 days already served in jail while awaiting trial.

John Boyle is a reporter with the Asheville Citizen Times. He can be reached at JBoyle@citizentimes.com.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: River Arts District sex assaults: Greenarch reaches plea deal