CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – A Tennessee police detective charged with lying in court about a sexual assault case wants the local prosecutor taken off the case, saying there is a conflict of interest.
Gatlinburg detective Rodney Burns was indicted May 20 on two felony counts of aggravated perjury in Hamilton County regarding his testimony about the alleged sexual assault of Ooltewah High School basketball players by their teammates in an apparent hazing incident. Burns' lawyer, Bryan Delius, says Hamilton County District Attorney General Neal Pinkston has a conflict of interest and shouldn't be permitted to participate in Burns' prosecution.
Delius says the conflict of interest stems from the civil defamation claim Burns has filed against Pinkston. The claim says Pinkston made defamatory statements about Burns in the media.
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