A Friendsville man is taken into custody and charged with multiple offenses against minors.
Anthony Duke Soto was indicted for 14 total charges following an eight month long investigation. Some of those charges include:
Continuous sexual abuse of a child
Aggravated child abuse/neglect
Child abuse/neglect
Four counts of sexual battery by an authority figure
Seven counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor
Sheriff’s Office officials opened an investigation into Soto in August 2022 after three female teenagers reported Soto had sexually abused them on his boat, officials said.
The victims said Soto offered them alcohol and marijuana before touching them sexually.
Multiple teenage girls later came forward and reported that Soto victimized them at his home and on his property, officials said. Investigators then interviewed multiple minors, including family members, that also alleged Soto abused them either physically or sexually, officials said.
Soto is being held in the Blount County Correctional Facility on $750,000 bond and faces a hearing in Blount County Circuit Court at 9 a.m. on April 10.
