A Shelby County jury found Cassell Hunt Jr. guilty on six counts of sexually abusing several children following a three-day trial, with jurors returning their verdicts after deliberating for only about an hour. The charges included one count of rape of a child, another rape count, aggravated sexual battery, continuous sexual abuse of a child, and solicitation of a minor.
According to WREG, Hunt's trial began Monday in Shelby County Criminal Court and concluded three days later with the jury convicting him on every count he faced. The station reported that the offenses occurred between 2019 and 2021 in Shelby County and involved minor victims, though further details about the specific conduct behind each charge, the evidence presented, or the defense's arguments were not included in the available reporting.
Six Counts, One Swift Verdict
Jurors weighed the case for roughly an hour before returning guilty verdicts on all six counts, per the station's report. The charges Hunt was convicted of — one count of rape of a child, another rape count, aggravated sexual battery, continuous sexual abuse of a child, and solicitation of a minor — fall under Tennessee statutes that classify offenses against children among the state's most serious crimes, including the state's rape of a child and continuous sexual abuse of a child statutes. The station's report did not include information on Hunt's sentence or whether a sentencing date has been set.
A Manhunt That Began in 2022
Hunt's case dates back several years before this week's verdict. A separate report indicates Hunt was arrested for rape of a child, with a warrant for his arrest issued on February 1, 2022, and adopted by the U.S. Marshals the following day, according to the same account. He was arrested in 2022, though the reporting available does not detail the circumstances of his capture or clarify how much time passed between the warrant's issuance and his arrest.
The available reporting does not identify the ages or identities of the victims, nor does it describe how investigators or prosecutors built the case that led to this week's convictions. Those details, along with any information about Hunt's sentence, remain unaddressed in the sourcing reviewed for this report.
