Child Abuser Convicted after Fleeing to Cherokee National Forest to Avoid Trial

DA Charme Allen announces that prosecutors in the Child Abuse Unit obtained multiple convictions against a man who sexually assaulted a child and then fled the jurisdiction on his trial date.  David Wayne Perkins, 38, pled guilty to four counts of Aggravated Sexual Battery and one count of Failure to Appear.  Judge Hector Sanchez sentenced Perkins to sixteen years to serve in the Tennessee Department of Correction without the possibility of parole.

In a plea colloquy today, Assistant District Attorney Ashley McDermott explained to the Court that in 2016, Perkins started dating a family member of the victim.  When the victim was eleven years old, Perkins began sexually assaulting the child.  The abuse continued for several years occurring in Knoxville and also locations in Florida and North Carolina.  When the victim was sixteen, she disclosed the abuse, leading to an investigation by Knox County Sheriff’s Office Detective Jeremy Wise and a forensic interview conducted at ChildHelp.  Perkins was charged and set to start trial on December 11, 2023, when he failed to appear in court and fled to a campsite he prepared in the Cherokee National Forest where he was apprehended by the United States Marshals Service three days later.

“This prosecution has been a long time coming for a victim who has been abused but who told the court today that she has not been defeated,” said DA Allen.

After serving his sentence in prison, Perkins must follow the requirements of the Tennessee Sex Offender Registry and be subject to Community Supervision for Life.  Assistant Victim Witness Coordinator Erin Morrison aided in the prosecution of this case.

If you have any questions, please contact Sean McDermott at 865-215-2515 or Sean.McDermott@knoxcounty.org. For more information about the District Attorney’s Office, visit our website at dag.knoxcountytn.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.