A Dyersburg man convicted of rape in 2008 has been indicted by the Dyer County grand jury for violating the sex offender act.
According to the indictment, Timothy Neal Byars, 56, on or about Nov.9, 2018 unlawfully and knowingly remained within 1000-feet of the property of Dyersburg High School while not having a legitimate reason for being there after being convicted of rape, in violation of TCA 40-39-211, a Class E felony, and against the peace and dignity of the State of Tennessee.
Byars, a former volunteer track coach at DHS, pled guilty in 2008 to raping to a 14-year-old girl before a track meet in November 2006. He received a nine-year sentence, but served time totaling one day short of two years. The penalty combined the Knoxville rape charge with a second sexual battery charge from Nashville that occurred earlier that night against the rape victim's sister, who was a teenager at the time.
Byars received a one-year sentence for the rape charge, which is a Class D Felony. He received an 11-month, 29-day sentence for the sexual battery charge, which is a misdemeanor.
Byars reportedly was spotted at the high school and warned by a member of the Dyersburg Police Department that as a sex offender, he was not authorized to be on school property without permission from the director of schools.
According to District Attorney General Danny Goodman, Byars was reportedly called by DHS officials and informed he was not to be on school property. Byars allegedly returned to the school anyway, a decision that led to the indictment for Violating the Sex Offender Act.
Byars was arrested on Monday, Dec. 17 by members of the Dyersburg Police Department, and was released a short time later on a $5,000 surety bond.
School officials had no comment on the matter other than to say the matter was being handled by the Dyersburg Police Department.
Byars is scheduled to appear in Circuit Court on Jan.8, 2019.