An Elizabethton man registered as a sex offender faces new charges after state probation officials said a global positioning system monitoring unit showed the man visited a local park.
Officers of the Carter County Sheriff’s Department arrested Broadus “Powell” Melton, 80, of 510 Bryant Ave., Wednesday on a warrant out of Carter County Criminal Court charging him with violation of probation.
Melton was convicted of sexual battery and solicitation of a minor in September 2000. Melton’s jail sentence was suspended, and he was ordered to serve 12 years of probation and to register as a sex offender.
Under state law, registered sex offenders are prohibited from visiting certain places where children are expected to be present, such as schools, playgrounds and public parks. To ensure compliance, some registered sex offenders are required to wear GPS monitors.
In the warrant for Powell’s arrest, Jeremiah Woodby of the Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole said Melton’s GPS monitoring unit showed Melton was at Sycamore Shoals State Park Saturday.
Woodby petitioned the court to issue a warrant charging Melton with violating the terms of his probation by not complying with the requirements of the Sex Offender Registration and Monitoring Act. Judge Stacy Street signed off on the warrant Tuesday, and Melton was arrested the following day.
A search of court records found that Melton has been charged with violating the terms of his probation multiple times. His probation was revoked and reinstated in November 2001, then again in October 2012 and then a third time in May 2013. The current date for his probation to end is in May 2025. Melton was also previously convicted of violation of the sex offender registration and monitoring act in 2011.
Melton remains held at the Carter County Detention Center without bond and is scheduled to appear in Carter County Criminal Court on Sept. 16.