Mark Alan Deakins
A Hamilton County man on trial on child sex charges in Chattanooga Federal Court has declined to testify.
The defense for Mark Alan Deakins, 63, put on no witnesses.
Judge Charles Atchley gave both sides until April 28 to submit final legal briefs. He said afterward he would set a date and give his ruling in court.
On Tuesday, three males took the witness stand to say that Deakins had molested them - dating back to 2000 for one witness and 2021 for another.
An FBI agent who works undercover on child sex cases said he had investigated multiple other victims of the defendant and located some of them.
If convicted, Deakins faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 35 years up to a maximum term of life in prison.
One witness said he went on a trip to Florida with Deakins when he was 17 and visited Sea World and other attractions. He said he was involved in sex acts with Deakins on the trip. He said Deakins had been molesting him since he was 11.
Another witness said when he was 11 he met Deakins, who was doing a construction job at a house next to his Chattanooga home. He said his own father was absent so he began doing odd jobs for Deakins and getting paid $100 per day cash.
He said on one job he broke a window and Deakins said he could pay for it by taking off all his clothes and running outside. He said he did so though it was snowing.
The witness said he began visiting Deakins' home on Culver Street in Red Bank and was induced to take part in sex acts with him. He said Deakins showed him pornography on a computer and told him they needed to emulate what they were seeing.
Afterward, he said Deakins advised "not to tell anyone or he could get in a lot of trouble."
He said on one occasion Deakins took him fishing and carried him through the water to an island. He later told him to take his wet clothes off. He said Deakins often paid him $200 for the sexual encounters.
The witness said he eventually told a sibling, who contacted his school principal and his mother. He said the principal had earlier given him a ride and asked him if everything was okay with him.
He said his mother "broke down. We broke down together. She didn't take it too well."
Deakins wound up being charged with sexual exploitation of a child in 1998 in Hamilton County. He got time served on one count and a suspended two-year term on another after pleading guilty in 2002. He also went on the Sex Offender Registry.
A third witness, age 12, said he got acquainted with Deakins because he lived nearby. He said he began spending lots of time with him, including spending many nights.
He said he and Deakins would often walk around the house naked or in their underwear. At one point he said Deakins took a photo of the boy measuring the length of his (the boy's) penis. Another witness said the same thing occurred to him.
In most cases, the witnesses said they did not know that Deakins was filming them.
The FBI agent said he was brought into the case when a black pouch was found in LaFayette, Ga., that contained three ID cards for Deakins. It also contained seven thumb drives that included photos and videos of Deakins involved in sexual acts with young boys, including some of those who testified.
There were also hundreds of images of child sex pulled off the Internet with file names such as New Young Ones, Boy O Boy and Naked Boy Scouts.
The pouch and its contents were turned over to the Red Bank Police Department.
The agent said a search warrant was obtained and he and other officers went to the Deakins residence on June 3, 2021. He said there was heavy cigarette smoke in the house and it appeared he had just left. Deakins was later arrested in Middle Tennessee.
The agent said there were multiple computers in the house along with computer discs with child sex images. There was also a shelf for boys clothes and underwear.