Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 2/15/16. Detective Rodney Burns of the Gatlinburg Police Department is sworn in as a witness before Judge Robert Philyaw during a preliminary hearing for the Ooltewah High School basketball coaches and the school’s athletic director in Hamilton County Juvenile Court on February 25, 2016. Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston charged head coach Andre “Tank” Montgomery, assistant coach Karl Williams and Athletic Director Allard “Jesse” Nayadley with failing to report child abuse or suspected child sexual abuse in connection with the rape of an Ooltewah High School freshman by his basketball teammates Dec. 22, 2015. The person facing the harshest penalty in connection with the rape of an Ooltewah High School freshman may be someone who wasn’t at the cabin in Gatlinburg, Tenn., during the attack.
It could be the detective who investigated the case.
Gatlinburg Police Detective Rodney Burns is charged with two counts of aggravated perjury, a class D felony that carries a sentence between two and four years behind bars, because of his testimony in the case.
Burns, 55, turned himself in to the Hamilton County Jail on Friday after being indicted by the Hamilton County Grand Jury earlier this week. He was released on a $2,500 bond.
Hamilton County District Attorney General Neal Pinkston previously said four boys were raped during the team’s trip to Gatlinburg to compete in a basketball tournament just days before Christmas. One player received injuries so severe he was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery.