A Signal Mountain man has been accused of raping a young relative, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.
Stephen Elliott Rapaport, 39, is charged with two counts of aggravated rape of a child, two counts of incest and one count of aggravated sexual battery, the sheriff’s office announced in a statement.
Rapaport is being held on a $1 million bond, according to jail records.
Deputies and detectives responded Thursday afternoon to a home on Signal Mountain for a reported child rape.
The child’s mother contacted law enforcement to report Rapaport had raped the child and allegedly had a video of the incident, the statement said.
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Detectives allegedly identified Rapaport graphically raping the child when they reviewed the footage.
The victim was 8 years old or younger, according to Tennessee code.
Due to the severity of the allegations, the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office was involved in providing guidance on the search and seizure procedures for certain electronic devices connected to Rapaport.
Sheriff’s office patrol, detectives and SWAT along with FBI personnel served a warrant and numerous electronic devices belonging to Rapaport were seized, the statement said.
Rapaport was then arrested at a Manchester Drive location.
He is scheduled to appear Jan. 17 in front of Judge Larry Ables. He has no local criminal history.
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A reporter called the Hamilton County General Sessions Court clerk’s office for additional information about the case, but the office was closed Friday due to inclement weather.
Last year, a new Tennessee law went into effect that authorizes prosecutors to pursue the death penalty when an adult is convicted of the aggravated rape of a child.
It is a law that is being overturned in other states, District Attorney Coty Wamp told the Chattanooga Times Free Press last year. Wamp has never charged a death penalty case.
But Wamp said people who rape young children deserve the worst punishment the law allows.
“Honestly, I’d be a lot more likely to do it on a aggravated rape of a child and be the test case for the state,” she said in September. “If you rape a 4-year-old, you never should get out of custody, but also it makes more sense to be put to death than some of our murderers.”
