Deputy District Attorney Argues Case to Tennessee Supreme Court

Knox County Deputy District Attorney General Kyle Hixson argued today in Nashville before the Tennessee Supreme Court in support of the State’s right to seize and forfeit property where the owner commits the crime of sexual exploitation of a minor. The case involves Charles D. Sprunger, a Crossville man who was convicted of sexual exploitation of a minor after authorities found over one hundred images of child pornography stored on a computer that Sprunger kept in his home.

A Cumberland County jury convicted Sprunger in 2010, and he was sentenced to eight years in prison. In a separate civil proceeding, a court found that Sprunger had forfeited his real property by using it in the commission of his criminal offense. Sprunger has appealed this civil forfeiture of his house and property to the Tennessee Supreme Court.

Hixson was appointed to argue the case following an agreement between District Attorney General Charme P. Allen and the State Attorney General’s Office. Prior to serving as District Attorney General, Allen spent many years as a prosecutor in the Knox County DA’s Child Abuse Unit where, in 2011 and 2012, she supervised Hixson.

The Supreme Court has taken Sprunger’s case under advisement and will issue an opinion at a later date.

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.