A 54-year-old Knoxville man and convicted sex offender was booked into the Knox County Jail on a $180,000 bond Thursday after a grand jury indicted him on 16 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says. Jeremy Todd White is accused of sexually exploiting two young girls, and investigators say digital evidence suggests he may have abused additional children who have not yet been identified.
Investigation Began With July Allegations
According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, agents began investigating allegations in July that White sexually exploited two young girls. As part of that probe, the TBI's Internet Crimes Against Children Squad executed two search warrants and seized multiple electronic devices. Investigators say a search of those devices turned up numerous images depicting child sexual abuse material in White's possession.
The case moved to a Knox County grand jury, which on October 21 returned an indictment charging White with sixteen counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, per the bureau's account. The next day, he was taken into custody and booked into the Knox County Jail on the $180,000 bond, as WVLT also reported.
TBI Warns There May Be More Victims
The bureau says the investigation remains active and ongoing. Based on digital evidence recovered from White's devices, agents believe he may have sexually abused and exploited additional children beyond the two girls named in the current charges. The TBI has not said whether any additional victims have been identified or whether further charges are expected.
Anyone with information related to the case is asked to contact the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND. That tip line is being staffed as the bureau's Internet Crimes Against Children Squad continues working the case alongside its broader caseload, which has grown sharply in recent years.
A Squad Stretched Thin Across Tennessee
The TBI's Internet Crimes Against Children Squad is made up of just four dedicated special agents handling cases statewide, yet the volume of work assigned to them has exploded. Agents were assigned 957 cases in 2024, a number that rose to more than 1,500 in 2025, according to the bureau's own figures. That surge underscores the scale investigators are confronting even as they pursue a single case like White's with multiple search warrants and an open-ended hunt for additional victims.
Separate reporting from Knoxville Nobility describes White as a registered sex offender in Tennessee, though that reporting was not independently verified here through court or registry records. The TBI has not detailed White's prior criminal history in its own statement on the new charges.
The TBI emphasizes that the charges against White are accusations, and that he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. No information on a plea, legal representation, or upcoming court appearance has been released.
