UNION COUNTY, Tenn. — UPDATE MONDAY: A Luttrell man will serve a 54-year prison sentence in a child sex abuse case.
Judge Zachary R. Walden imposed sentence Monday on Scott Stiner.
Walden ordered Stiner to serve a series of consecutive terms after being convicted by a jury in December on counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child under 13 and solicitation of sexual exploitation of a minor. The terms add up to 54 years.
Walden said from the bench that Stiner's was one of the worse cases he'd seen since taking the bench, according to a news release.
According to authorities, Stiner, who is in his 50s, is eligible for release in 2069.
Stiner fled to the coastal town of Mendocino, Calif., as Union County authorities investigated the case. Union County investigators tracked him to California, and he eventually was brought back to East Tennessee.
PREVIOUS STORY: A Union County jury found a Luttrell man guilty Thursday after he was accused of soliciting sexual exploitation of a minor and aggravated sexual battery.
Scott Stiner, from Luttrell, was arrested in Mendocino, California in March 2022 after authorities investigated his whereabouts. A detective with the Union County Sheriff's Office used "media and communication outlets" to find him, eventually leading authorities to Mendocino. Stiner was later spotted at a home in Mendocino and was taken into custody without incident.
He was extradited from California for the trial, which lasted three days. The jury found him guilty of one count of soliciting sexual exploitation of a minor and four counts of aggravated sexual battery.
He will stay in custody at the Union County Jail awaiting sentencing, scheduled for March 11, 2024.