Blount County, Tenn. (Story courtesy of WVLT) – A Blount County man is facing almost 10 counts of sex charges connected to a relationship he had with a 13-year-old girl, according to the Blount County Sheriff’s Office.
The case centers on 24-year-old Ethan Howard Owens. According to the sheriff’s office, he sent explicit pictures or videos to her over the internet before meeting up with her. Once he met her in person, the sheriff’s office said, he forced her to have sex with him without her consent. The investigator behind the case, who the sheriff’s office said started investigating in September of 2025, presented his findings on March 2 to a grand jury.
That grand jury returned indictments on eight charges:
- Two counts of exploitation of a minor by electronic means
- Four counts of rape
- Two counts of statutory rape
Ownes is being held at the Blount County Correctional Facility on a $400,000 bond. He’s due in court on April 6. Earlier in the year, Owens was charged with aggravated statutory rape by the Madisonville Police Department.
