Plea entered in Mann case
HUNTSVILLE — After nearly three years of delays after the original indictment was returned against an Oneida couple accused of child abuse, a resolution to the matter was brought about in Criminal Court here Tuesday morning.
Aaron Mann entered a “best interest” plea to the charge of aggravated assault, a Class C felony, through a plea agreement reached with the state.
Under terms of the agreement, he was sentenced by Judge Shayne Sexton to six months house arrest, to be followed by one year of supervised probation and 1.5 years of unsupervised probation.
Mann also surrenders his parental rights and agrees not to take in foster care children in the future.
As a result of the agreement, charges against Mann’s wife, Linda Gail Mann, were dismissed.
Pro Tem District Attorney General, Victor Vaughn, of Knoxville’s Third Judicial District, summarized the case against Mann at Tuesday’s court proceedings, saying it was accepted that Mann hit his then-13-year-old step daughter with a piece of PVC pipe on July 26, 2004, causing a collapsed lung that required two days hospitalization.
The child abuse case against the Manns shocked Scott County and made headlines across East Tennessee when details of the case emerged in July 2004.
In a lengthy preliminary hearing in General Sessions Court in August 2004, investigators painted a picture of ongoing physical abuse inside the Manns’ home, which was then the sprawling estate commonly referred to as the “Murley Mansion” on East Third Ave in Oneida.
The home has since been sold, and the Manns no longer reside in Scott County.
Mann’s home confinement sentence will begin on Friday. He was granted permission by Judge Sexton to proceed with a previously-scheduled hospital stay during the house arrest period.
Mann was originally indicted on one count of aggravated child abuse, a Class B felony.