FBI requesting help finding victims of Chattanooga man indicted on child sexual exploitation
Jun. 25—The FBI wants to get in touch with victims of a Chattanooga man who was indicted on charges of sexual exploitation of children by a federal grand jury this week in Knoxville.
Mark Alan Deakins, 61, of Chattanooga, was indicted for allegedly victimizing, photographing and filming young children from the 1990s through June 2021.
The FBI wrote in a report this week that Deakins' victims were most likely boys between the ages of 7 and 17.
"It is believed there could be more than 20 victims throughout the Southeast," the FBI wrote.
Deakins is being held pending trial in U.S. District Court in Chattanooga. The indictment alleges that Deakins sexually exploited a child under the age of 12 from June 2018 through September 2018.
The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Chattanooga Crimes Against Children Task Force and included the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the Chattanooga Police Department, Tennessee Highway Patrol, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office and the Red Bank Police Department.
Deakins' trial has been set for Aug. 24 before Judge Charles E. Atchley Jr. If convicted, Deakins faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 35 years up to a maximum term of life in prison.
The FBI is legally mandated to identify victims of federal crimes it investigates. Identified victims may be eligible for certain services and rights under federal or state law.
Anyone with information should contact the FBI Chattanooga office at 423-265-3601 or report it at tips.fbi.gov.
Contact Patrick Filbin at pfilbin@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickFilbin.
