A Kingsport man faces a sexual offense charge following his indictment by a Carter County grand jury earlier this month.
On Thursday, officers of the Elizabethton Police Department arrested Landon Wayne Garland, 28, of Kingsport, on an indictment charging him with one count of aggravated statutory rape.
The indictment alleges Garland engaged in sexual activity with a 13-year-old child during the summer of 2012. Garland was 25 years old when the incident allegedly occurred.
Because Garland is more than 10 years older than the victim, the charge is upgraded from statutory rape to aggravated statutory rape under state law, which makes the crime a “Class D” felony.
Garland remains held at the Carter County Detention Center under a $20,000 bond. He is scheduled to make his first appearance in Carter County Criminal Court on Nov. 23 before Judge Lisa Nidiffer Rice.