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HUNTSVILLE — Authorities say that the arrest of a Scott County man on multiple child sex abuse charges last week stems from the investigation of what appears to be a “sex ring” targeting children.

As reported last week, Roger Dwight Williams was indicted by a grand jury on Tuesday (Feb. 26) on 20 felony charges, including several counts of child rape. The indictment was announced by District Attorney General Wm. Paul Phillips in a press release Tuesday morning.

At a press conference after the Independent Herald’s press deadline Tuesday afternoon, Scott County Sheriff Anthony Lay was more specific about the allegations from which the indictment stemmed.

Allegedly, the charges against the 37-year-old Williams involve at least six victims, all of whom were under the age of 13. Sheriff Lay said that some of the alleged victims were related to Williams, while others were children of family friends.

Investigators said that future indictments against additional suspects in the case are likely. When asked by a reporter if the case was a sex ring, Detective Melissa Dunning replied, “It appears so, yes.”

Lay said that Williams maintained residences in both Scott and Morgan counties, and that the allegations stem from incidents that occurred within both counties. He added that the allegations date back to 2002, and that authorities began their investigation in December.

Investigators believe they have identified all the victims. Those children are receiving counseling at the Children’s Center of the Cumberlands.

Lay said the alleged crimes were the worst case of child abuse he had ever seen.

Williams was arrested at his sister’s home in Scott County Tuesday morning after the indictment was handed down by the grand jury. He is to be arraigned in Scott County Criminal Court on April 7. He was being held at the Scott County Jail, with bond set at $500,000.

The investigation was a joint effort by the Sheriff’s Department, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Children’s Services.

An indictment does not represent a criminal conviction; rather, it is a criminal charge presented by a prosecuting attorney against a suspect, who remains innocent until proven guilty in court. A grand jury returns a true bill when it finds that sufficient evidence exits to send the charge to court, or a no true bill when it finds that sufficient evidence does not exist.

SHERIFF: SOME CLOSURE FOR JOHNSON FAMILY

Also at Tuesday afternoon’s press conference, Lay said that he was happy to be a part of an effort to perhaps provide some closure to the family of 66-year-old Jean Johnson, who has been missing since February 2007 and is believed dead.

A grand jury indicted Johnson’s ex-husband, Douglas V. Whisnant, on a first degree murder charge the same morning. He remains in federal custody in Blount County.

With several members of Johnson’s family in attendance at the press conference, Lay said that the timing of the indictment was right.

“We feel at this point that we’ve obtained a good amount of evidence. The family has suffered for a year and we decided that we were ready to move forward,” he said. “We proceeded with this case because we felt very confident about it.”

Lay said that in the meantime, the search for Johnson is not over.

“We will continue to search every minute and every day until we have a successful conclusion,” he said. “I want to stress that the search is not over.”