A Signal Mountain man has been charged with 52 crimes in connection with the alleged rape and sexual abuse of a child.
Stephen Rapaport, 40, committed the crimes from August 2023 to January 2025 against a child younger than 8 years old, the indictment said.
The Hamilton County grand jury indicted Rapaport on Thursday on 12 counts of aggravated rape of a child, 12 counts of incest, 12 counts of aggravated sexual battery, 12 counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and four counts of continuous sexual abuse of a minor, the indictment said.
Rapaport was arrested in January after Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office deputies and detectives responded to a reported child rape at a Signal Mountain home.
The child’s mother allegedly had a video of Rapaport raping the child and contacted law enforcement, according to a previous Sheriff’s Office news release.
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When detectives reviewed the footage, they allegedly saw Rapaport graphically raping the child.
Due to the severity of the accusations, the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office provided guidance on the search and seizure procedures for certain electronic devices that belonged to Rapaport.
Sheriff’s Office patrol deputies, detectives and SWAT team members, along with FBI personnel, served a warrant, and numerous devices were seized.
Rapaport was then arrested at a Manchester Drive location.
He is scheduled to appear June 20 in front of Criminal Court Judge Boyd Patterson, and he has no prior criminal history locally, according to the criminal clerk’s office.
A Tennessee law went into effect last year that allows the state to pursue the death penalty at its discretion when an adult is convicted of an aggravated rape of a child. Otherwise, the penalty is life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to state code.
Contact Sofia Saric at ssaric@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476.