Legislator evicts roommate after learning he’s a sex offender

“Did I have any knowledge (of the man’s crimes)? No. He answered an ad in the paper,” said the freshman Republican, who renovates and leases houses as a profession and has been renting a room to the man since at least late 2003.

“It’s not like I’m condoning what he did,” added the outspoken Campfield, whose conservative Web blog has been criticized by colleagues for poking fun at Democrats and deriding gay adoption and abortion.

Campfield’s renter Christopher Eatherly, 30, was convicted in 2002 in Anderson County of three counts of statutory rape for having sex with a 13-year-old girl. He was charged the following year for failing to register his new address in Knox County with the TBI.

That address was 1409 Henna Street, according to court records. But there is no Henna Street in Knox County. There is a 1409 Hannah Avenue, however, and Campfield owns it.

Campfield acknowledged Thursday that he rented that house to Eatherly and another man. When the other man moved out, Campfield rented a room in his Flagler Road home to Eatherly. The Flagler Road home is Campfield’s official residence — the only one of seven properties he owns in Knox County that is within his legislative district.

Campfield said he didn’t know about Eatherly’s criminal past until questioned by local news media this week. He then decided to ask Eatherly to leave.

“People are going to believe what they want to believe,” Campfield said. “But I haven’t broken any law and I don’t know what I could have done differently.”

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Information from: The Knoxville News Sentinel, http://www.knoxnews.com