A 63-year-old Maryville man is being held on $1.05 million in bonds after the Blount County Sheriff's Office arrested him Friday on charges that include rape of a child, incest and continuous sexual abuse of a child. Timothy B. Wheeler was taken into custody at 1:30 p.m. and booked into the Blount County Correctional Facility just before 5 p.m. the same day, according to court-record information.
According to the WATE 6 On Your Side report, the Blount County Sheriff's Office says Wheeler sexually abused a child multiple times when the child was between the ages of 6 and 11. He was arrested on charges of rape of a child, continuous sexual abuse of a child, incest and four counts of aggravated sexual battery.
Wheeler remains held at the Blount County Correctional Facility pending a hearing in Blount County General Sessions Court. The sheriff's office began the investigation that led to the charges in September, and per that same account, the case is still open, with more charges possible.
What the Charges Carry Under Tennessee Law
Rape of a child is classified as a Class A felony under Tennessee law and carries possible sentences of life in prison or the death penalty. Continuous sexual abuse of a child, incest and aggravated sexual battery are also felony charges under state law.
No defense statement from Wheeler or his attorney has been made public, and the evidence available does not establish whether the case has reached any final court outcome. The investigation's scope beyond the current charges has not been detailed.
A Broader Look at Sexual-Offense Data in Tennessee
A 2017 study from East Tennessee State University examined rates of sexual offenses, including those within families, across rural and urban counties statewide. Researchers built the analysis using data pulled from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's crime-statistics database, sorting counties into metropolitan, nonmetropolitan urban-density and rural groups based on 2013 Rural-Urban Continuum Codes. The study does not speak to any trend specific to Blount County or to this case.
Statewide crime data collected by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation draws on reports submitted by law enforcement agencies through the Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System, according to the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Current statewide or county-level totals tied to this case were not available in the material reviewed.
