CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A 61-year-old Chattanooga man pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges that he sexually exploited a child for several months in 2018.
Officials said that Mark Deakins was indicted on June 16 by a federal grand jury in Knoxville following a federal investigation that began in May when a woman met with detectives. She said she was giving a young male a ride and that he left behind a small bag that contained identification cards, thumb drives and videotapes.
She said she found child pornography videos on the thumb drives that night, which included images of a man she knew. That person then said the images were taken by Deakins.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said they found evidence of several folders containing images and names of at least 17 young boys over a period of 20 years showing sexually explicit content.
The images also depicted juveniles in sexually explicit activity with adult men. Deakins was seen in many of the images and videos, according to records.
Federal investigators said they found files that were taken between June and September 2018 and also found the location where they were taken. They depicted several instances of sexual activity with a boy under 12 years old, according to records.
Investigators also found videos of the boy nude inside a living area, sitting in the lap of a man, according to records. Investigators said the man in the videos closely matched descriptions of Deakins.
A trial has been set for Aug. 24 before Judge Charles E. Atchley Jr.
Deakins has been detained while awaiting the trial, according to a release from officials. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 35 years up to life in prison.
