The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

Staff Reports

Posted: Monday, January 01, 2018 12:26 PM

Rockwood Man Pleads Guilty To Inappropriately Touching Two Young Girls On Church Bus

A Rockwood man pleaded guilty to inappropriately touching two young girls last year on a church bus.

A 9-year-old and a 10-year-old on March, 16, 2016, told their parents that Larry Lynn Allison, now 19 years old, molested them on the Mount Pisgah Baptist Church of Oliver Springs church bus. According to investigators, Allison touched the girls' genitals, and forced one of them to touch his.

Allison on Monday pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual battery. According to the plea agreement, Allison will serve 15 years in prison and must register with the Tennessee Sex Offender Registry upon release. He also will undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation after his release, and will be subject to community supervision for the remainder of his life.

“Hopefully, resolving this case — something unimaginable to any parent of a small child — in this manner will allow the girls to begin to heal the emotional trauma an assault of this kind brings,” Assistant District Attorney Barry Carrier said. “We must be constantly vigilant in our public institutions, such as churches and schools, to prevent crimes like these before they are committed.”