Parents of Blount County man facing child porn charges urge pre-trial release
The parents of a Maryville, Tennessee, man indicted on child pornography charges told a federal judge Thursday why they have good reason to believe their son might be targeted by other inmates and jailers alike unless he’s released pending trial.
They’re both retired corrections officers with the Blount County Sheriff’s Office.
Edward and Brenda Everhart testified at a detention hearing on behalf of their son, 29-year-old George Robert Everhart, who faces four counts of producing, distributing and possessing sexual images involving children under the age of 12.
They asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Guyton that Everhart be released into their custody, as much for his safety as for his presumed innocence until proven guilty.
“Years ago I worked in the jail,” Edward Everhart said under questioning by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kolman. “Not all law enforcement officers are alike.
“You get treated one way for one crime and another way for another.”
He later claimed he was only referencing things such as the distribution of shaving razors and toothbrushes to inmates.
The defendant’s mother was more direct, acknowledging her concern that her son would be beaten by other inmates if they learned about the charges against him.
“It’s happened before,” Brenda Everhart said.
Kolman noted inmates charged with crimes against children typically are held separately from the general population.
The defendant, who goes by Robert, has remained in custody at the Blount County Jail since he surrendered to authorities June 21.
Investigator John Williams, with the Knoxville Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, testified Everhart admitted to taking explicit nude photos of a 10-year-old girl earlier this year.
Police found similar photos taken in 2015 of another girl who was 7 at the time. Everhart said he found those images on the girl’s mother’s camera, although investigators found no evidence to support the claim, according to Williams.
Investigators also recovered another 109 videos and four images of child pornography after seizing a laptop computer, two cell phones and various digital memory devices from the defendant, Williams said.
Williams added that Everhart claimed he has never inappropriately touched a child.
“He said he had not, and if he had, he would be in Mexico right now,” the investigator testified. “It indicates he has thought about, if he was caught, fleeing the country.”
Everhart’s attorney, T. Scott Jones, said Edward and Brenda Everhart are willing to remove all Internet access and firearms from their Maryville home, and to provide constant supervision and GPS monitoring of their son pending trial.
Court filings by the defense also note Everhart is a member of the Shriners and a graduate of the Walter State Police Academy in Greeneville, Tennessee. Unlike his parents, though, he has never worked in law enforcement.
Jones asked the judge to “follow the letter of the law” in granting Everhart’s pretrial release.
“He has shown no inclination to flee,” Jones said.
Kolman questioned whether the defendant’s parents could be trusted to put the letter of the law ahead of their love for their son.
She said Everhart told investigators he had confessed his crimes to his father before being interviewed by police, yet the elder Everhart never reported it to authorities.
On the witness stand Thursday, Edward Everhart testified he never had any such conversation with his son.
Guyton asked federal probation officers to inspect the suitability of the Everharts’ Maryville home before making his decision.
The detention hearing is set to resume Monday afternoon.
Everhart is set for trial