Tennessee detective indicted on aggravated perjury charges
A police detective from a Tennessee resort town has been indicted on aggravated perjury charges stemming from his testimony about the alleged sexual assault of high school basketball players by their teammates in a hazing case that outraged authorities in the boys' hometown.
The Hamilton County District Attorney's office announced Friday that a grand jury had indicted Gatlinburg police detective Rodney Burns on two felony counts regarding his testimony at a Feb. 15 preliminary hearing for three Ooltewah High School officials who faced charges of failing to report a sexual assault.
The three school officials faced charges in Hamilton County for failure to report child sexual abuse.
The true bill filed in Hamilton County court says Burns testified there were no "screams of anguish" during the incident, even though his written police reports noted that one witness told police a "victim yelled out in pain" and another said "he could hear (the victim) yelling" during the attack.
Tennessee law requires school officials to report any suspected child sexual abuse to the state Department of Children's Services, to the sheriff or police chief where the children reside or to the juvenile court with jurisdiction over them.