KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A former Knox County Sheriff's Office deputy was sentenced Monday to four years in prison for forwarding to himself nude videos he found on an underage girl's phone during a call for service.
Tim Stidam, 42, pleaded guilty by agreement with Knox County prosecutors to two counts -- aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and official misconduct.
He'd been indicted in a nine-count document and was set to face trial Monday in Knox County Criminal Court.
Stidam must serve three full years in prison on the sexual exploitation count. After that he'll start serving a year on the official misconduct count and will be eligible for parole after serving 30 percent of his time.
Defense attorney T. Scott Jones, who represents Stidam, observed Monday morning the case represented a disturbing set of facts stemming from a split-second decision by his client that had long-term and harmful results.
Stidam spoke quietly during sentencing, saying little beyond responding to Judge Scott Green's questions.
In February 2022, Stidam responded to a call from a residence in West Knox County involving the 16-year-old, according to Knox County prosecutor Ashley McDermott.
At first authorities thought she was 18 but it soon became clear she was a minor, McDermott told Green.
Stidam took her cellphone. He looked through it and saw there were videos of her in the shower engaging in simulated sex acts, the prosecutor said.
The deputy sent three videos to his personal phone, McDermott said.
His KCSO bodycam and exams of his phone and her phone showed what he'd done, the prosecutor said.
When she got her phone back, the girl discovered someone had sent the content to a phone she didn't know. Authorities were alerted. In March 2022, Stidam admitted to FBI agents what he'd done, noting, "I did something stupid," McDermott said.
KCSO terminated him soon after.