By Tabitha Evans Moore | EDITOR & PUBLISHER

LYNCHBURG, Tennessee (Friday, November 22) — As he sat in front of Moore County Circuit Court Judge Forest A. Durard wearing prison stripes and scruffy red and gray beard, a local preacher, 51-year-old Forrest David Bryan, plead guilty to one count of rape, a Class B felony, and one count of sexual exploitations of a vulnerable adult, a Class A misdemeanor.

He will serve eight years in a state prison. The sentencing range for the Class B felony had the case gone to a jury trial would have been 8-12 years. The plea deal helps the victim avoid what would likely be a traumatic jury trial.

Victim a mentally challenged, 21-year-old church member

Local law enforcement arrested Bryan on July 20, 2023 after the victim discussed the alleged crimes with an area counselor. The incident report alleged that Bryan became obsessed with the mentally disabled 21-year-old church member after his divorce – sending her text messages offering to pay for sex.

Local authorities were made aware of the potential abuse by Tennessee Adult Protective Services.

In open court, Judge Durard read a statement saying that during the investigation, “Bryan seemed relaxed at first while discussing text messages on his phone, then stiffened when asked directly about the victim.”

The subsequent investigation by Metro Moore County Sheriff Department officials revealed that Bryan and the victim engaged in sexual activities that Bryan claimed were consensual. However, the victim suffers from multiple mental health issues “including suicidal ideations and possesses the intellectual capacity of a 13-year-old,” according to the document read in court by Judge Durard on Friday. The investigation also revealed Facebook Messenger correspondences that alluded to the sexual encounters.

Bryan will serve eight years

After reading the plea document to Bryan, Judge Durard asked Bryan if he agreed to the facts. He replied, “Yes sir, I agree,” then his defensive attorney, Garth Segroves, asserted that his client agreed that the facts contained in the plea document were, “essentially true” – a statement with which Judge Durard seems to take issue.

As court officials and the folks in the gallery shuffled uncomfortably in their seats, the judge then spent the next five minutes drilling down to the legal definitions of rape, a vulnerable adult, consent, and other details of the plea. After which, Bryan agreed for a second time to the facts included in his plea agreement.

Segroves and members of the 17^th District Attorney’s office negotiated an eight-year sentence for Bryan. He will not be eligible for parole during that time and must serve the full eight years. However, he will receive credit for time served.

 He’s been in custody at the Moore County Jail – where he once worked as a dispatcher – since July 2023. This means he will serve a little over six years following the plea deal. Judge Durard further explained that as part of the plea deal, Bryan is to have no further contact with the victim and will be placed on the Tennessee Sex Offender Registry for the remainder of his life. He will also remain under community supervision for life. •

{The Lynchburg Times is a locally-owned and locally-operated community newspaper in Lynchburg, Tennessee and one of the few women-owned newspapers in the state. It’s owned by a Tulane University-educated journalist with over 20 years of experience. We’re supported by both readers and community partners who believe in independent journalism for the common good. You can support us by clicking here. }