Soddy-Daisy man, 67, indicted on child rape charge

photo Earl Boles

A Soddy-Daisy man has been indicted by the Hamilton County grand jury on a charge of child rape.

The parents of a 12-year-old girl told Soddy-Daisy police in June that Earl Boles, the 67-year-old manager of Earl's Game Room at 9619 Dayton Pike, had raped their daughter at the pool hall.

Detective Dennis Waters began investigating in July and presented his evidence to the grand jury last week. Boles was arrested Friday and released on a $15,000 bond.

In an interview at his home Wednesday, Boles said he didn't grope or have sex with the girl.

"No matter what happens, it's destroyed my life," Boles said.

Boles said he retired a few years ago and opened the business to supplement his Social Security checks. His business license expired June 30. He said the pool hall wasn't making money and he'd planned to shut it down even before he was arrested.

Before closing the pool hall this week, most of his customers, especially in the winter months, were young, he said. Games were 50 cents each, or a pool table could be rented for $5 an hour.

Although neighbors near the business say drugs were being bought and sold at the pool hall, Boles said if it happened, it was outside the game room and he didn't know about it. He was not charged with any drug offenses in the indictment, though he has faced drug charges in the past, court records show.

Soddy-Daisy Police Chief Phil Hamrick said police believe the alleged incident to be a one-time occurrence but are still investigating.

"Parents need to really be diligent with knowing where their kids are and who they're with," Hamrick said.

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