A Rhea County, Tenn., couple appeared in court this week for a status hearing on child sexual abuse and child neglect charges related to incidents involving two girls under the age of 12.
Charles Johnson, 43 at the time of his arrest, and Mary Nichols, 32, now face a new court date beginning at 9 a.m. on July 21, according to Rhea County Circuit Court officials.
Johnson and Nichols were charged in April with 11 felony counts that included two counts of rape of a child, six counts of child sexual battery and two counts of incest against Johnson, and child abuse and neglect against Nichols.
Nichols was charged in the investigation because she knew about the abuse but did nothing to stop it, Rhea County Sheriff’s Office investigator Rocky Potter said at the time of the arrests.
Court records show Johnson is now represented by the public defender’s office and Nichols is represented by Dayton lawyer Jace Cochran.
“We continue to work on the case but are really limited on what we can say at this time,” 12th Judicial District Public Defender Jeff Harmon said. Cochran couldn’t be reached for comment on Tuesday.
Rhea County authorities received information about the alleged crimes over the past year and officers tried to investigate, but the girls wouldn’t disclose their situation. But that changed with an investigation into a suspicious injury in January that placed them in the custody of other family members for a couple of weeks, Potter said in April.
Once out of the home, the children “started feeling comfortable” enough to talk to the family members with whom they were staying, Potter said.
This time the girls “gave good clear disclosure on what had been happening,” Potter said. The detective said that once the girls began to describe what happened “the forensic interviewer couldn’t keep up.”
That information led to another investigation in February that landed Johnson and Nichols behind bars.
Now, Nichols remains held on a $50,000 bond and Johnson’s bond stands at $150,000.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or twitter.com/BenBenton or www.facebook.com/ben.benton1 or 423-757-6569.