MARYVILLE, TN – Blount County Sheriff James Lee Berrong announced Tuesday that investigators had arrested a Knox County employee and former youth deacon Monday evening, and that man is facing child sex charges.

The case centers on 64-year-old Donald Jeffrey Clark of Apple Creek Drive in Louisville. A spokesperson for Knox County confirmed he works as the finance systems and compliance director. The same official said he had been placed on administrative leave. Berrong’s announcement said Clark had been charged with two counts:

• Sexual battery by an authority figure
• Continuous sexual abuse of a child

“In December, investigators opened an inquiry on Clark after they received information from a parent that Clark sexually assaulted their teenage son for several years beginning in 2021,” Berrong said. “The investigation revealed that Clark sent the youth sexually suggestive text messages and sexually assaulted him on multiple occasions while Clark served as a youth deacon at a local church, though there is no evidence that any of the abuse occurred on church property.”

Clark was released from custody at the Blount County Correctional Facility on a $250,000 bond. He’s next due in court at 9 a.m. on April 13.

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