February 24, 2021

A 73-year-old Harviell man was arrested Monday on suspicion of raping a girl under the age of 13 four years ago in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Jerry Lee Whitt is being held on a $100,000 bond in Butler County jail awaiting transfer to Sumner County, Tennessee. The indictment alleges Whitt engaged in sexual activity with a 13-year-old girl...

Elizabeth Coady Staff Writer

A 73-year-old Harviell man was arrested Monday on suspicion of raping a girl under the age of 13 four years ago in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

Jerry Lee Whitt is being held on a $100,000 bond in Butler County jail awaiting transfer to Sumner County, Tennessee. The indictment alleges Whitt engaged in sexual activity with a 13-year-old girl.

The assault allegedly happened sometime during the summer of 2016, according to the indictment.

“I can’t give you anything about the victim because it is a child,’’ said Hendersonville Police Detective Sean Simms. “The child came forward this year.”

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Investigators would not say if Whitt had a familial relation with the child.

Simms presented the case to a Sumner County grand jury during the first week of February.

“The grand jury decided to make it a true bill and that’s where the warrant came from,’’ he said.

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