Child Rapist Sentenced to Seventy-Seven Years in Prison

Prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Child Abuse Unit obtained a seventy-seven-year sentence against a defendant who sexually abused a child for over a decade.  Aaron Michael King, 40, was convicted of five counts of Rape of a Child, five counts of Rape, Statutory Rape by an Authority Figure, Incest, two counts of Aggravated Sexual Battery, Especially Aggravated Sexual Exploitation, Tampering with Evidence, Especially Aggravated Kidnapping, and Aggravated Kidnapping.  Judge Scott Green handed down the sentence following a sentencing hearing today.

In a four-day trial in August, Assistant District Attorneys Sarah Keith and Jordan Murray explained to the jury that King began sexually abusing the victim when the victim was five years old.  The abuse continued as the child grew up with King using sexual acts as punishment for things like bad grades.  King would force the child to perform sexual acts in order to go out with friends.  King also began filming sexual acts with the child.  The repeated rapes and sexual abuse of the child continued until the child disclosed the decade of abuse to the child’s mother.  The Knox County Sheriff’s Office was alerted.  The child was taken to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital for a sexual assault examination.  Officers were able to recover DNA to corroborate the abuse.

“After a decade of suffering, this young victim had the courage to come forward and confront this abuser,” said DA Charme Allen.  “Because of that courage, our community is now safer.”

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.