KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — A 38-year-old man is facing multiple convictions after sexually assaulting a child and fleeing on his trial date, according to the Knox County Office of the District Attorney General Charme Allen.
In 2016, David Perkins started dating a family member of the 11-year-old victim. At that time, Perkins began sexually assaulting the child, the DA said.
The abuse continued for several years in Knoxville and also in Florida and North Carolina.
When the victim was 16 years old, she reported the abuse leading to an investigation by the Knox County Sheriff's Office.
Perkins was charged and set to trial on Dec. 11, 2023. According to the DA, he failed to appear in court and fled to a campsite he prepared in the Cherokee National Forest. Three days later, he was arrested by the United States Marshals Service.
Perkins is charged with four counts of aggravated sexual battery and one count of failure to appear, according to the DA.
He has been sentenced to serve 16 years in the Tennessee Department of Correction without the possibility of parole.
