A Bristol man who skirted statutory rape charges by living out of his truck for months was arrested Friday in Johnson City after a routine traffic stop, police said Monday.
Last summer, the Bristol Tennessee Police Department began investigating Everette “Spencer” Barnett, 40, in connection to incest and aggravated statutory rape accusations involving a teenage girl.
Police Lt. Debbie McCauley was vague about the details, citing a desire to protect the underage victim, but said the department had reason to believe the sexual abuse took place over several years.
Toward the beginning of the probe, Barnette disappeared and was rumored to be living in his 1995 Nissan pickup somewhere in the Tri-Cities, she said.
Last week, he was featured on 11 Connects Monday’s Most Wanted. A Johnson City Police officer, who pulled him over for unrelated reasons, recognized him from the show. Barnette has since been charged with one count of incest and another of statutory rape by an authority figure.
In Tennessee, statutory rape is the sexual penetration of a child between 13 and 18 years old. The charge is enhanced if the accused is an authority figure – a school teacher, baby sitter or caregiver of any kind.
McCauley said that when the case reaches a grand jury, additional counts could be added.
“There’s a big difference between a 16-year-old having sex with a boyfriend who’s 21, and a 16-year-old having sex with, say for example, a teacher,” McCauley said. “If he or she has control or authority over you in some form or fashion, you could be intimidated into having consensual sex with them.”
Barnett is being held at the Washington County Detention Center on a $10,000 bond. He faces a charge of theft over $1,000 out of Johnson City in connection to an October property theft on Poplar Street.
He will be arraigned there first, then transported to Sullivan County to face the rape and incest charges.
cgalofaro@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2531
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