Soddy-Daisy man arrested on 14 child sex abuse charges
A Hamilton County, man was charged in Rhea County on Monday with 14 criminal counts that include child rape and sexual battery charges stemming from an investigation launched in December 2019.
Roy Benton Jr., 39, of Soddy-Daisy, is charged with five counts of rape of a child, four counts of aggravated sexual battery and five additional related sexual abuse counts stemming from an investigation that started with a police call in Soddy-Daisy, according to Rhea County Sheriff’s Office investigator Rocky Potter.
In December, Soddy-Daisy police were called to a residence over living conditions involving some children that then led to the Department of Children’s Services being called to talk with the family about health and safety issues, Potter said. While DCS officials talked with the children, one of them told about inappropriate contact that had allegedly happened with Benton while living a few months in Rhea County a couple of years ago, he said. Potter said the children also talked about incidents that allegedly happened in Hamilton County.
Potter said he watched videotapes of the interviews and worked with a DCS worker in Hamilton County to collect more evidence for a presentation to Rhea County’s February grand jury, which handed up indictments on the 14 counts.
Soddy-Daisy police were aware of a pending warrant for Benton’s arrest and “found him in a traffic stop [Monday] and they arrested him and transported him to our jail,” Potter said.
“The mother elected to stay with her husband, so the girls were placed in a foster home because there were no other suitable family members to place them with,” he said.
Meanwhile, Benton is being held on $60,000 bond at the Rhea County Jail, according to Potter.
Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Matt Lea on Tuesday was unable to confirm whether an investigation involving Benton was underway.
Rhea County Criminal Court officials said no court date has been set for Benton and he had no lawyer on record on Tuesday.