ATHENS, Tenn. — On Wednesday night, Police officers responded to a church where they were told a male juvenile had arrived in tears. The boy told officers he, his sister, and some friends were walking home from school. The friends wanted to go to a particular house, but the boy didn’t, so he instead went to Prof Powers Park by himself. The boy noticed a car circling the parking lot several times. When the car parked, a man walked over and started talking to him. The man then picked up the boy and carried him into the bathroom, where he assaulted him. The boy said he told the man ‘no!’ several times, and was able to run out of the door and to the church, where he called his sister.

While the boy was being treated at a local hospital, officers got a call from his grandparents, who had gone looking for the vehicle. They told the officers the vehicle had returned to the park, leaving soon after, and that they were following it. The man was identified as 61-year-old Jeffery Lynn Gregory, who had an outstanding failure to appear warrant for his arrest, issued in McMinn County. Officers tracked down the vehicle and stopped it. They put Gregory in custody on the outstanding warrant.

During questioning, Gregory told officers that he had been at the park. He told them he saw “a young white guy that appeared to be seventeen to eighteen years old.” (Note: The report does not specify the victim’s age). Gregory told investigators the two went into the bathroom to engage in a sexual encounter, with the ‘teen” initiating the contact, according to the report. Officers then booked Gregory on child rape charges. He’s now in custody at the McMinn County Justice Center.

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