KNOXVILLE - Police have arrested a Knoxville man in connection with the attempted abductions in recent weeks of two University of Tennessee students.
Anthony Ray Davenport, 30, has a history of indecent exposures and other offenses dating to 1993.
In addition to the attempted abductions, a string of indecent exposures also were reported to police in this month. That led Knoxville police investigator Patty Tipton to look for Davenport.
"It was just a gut hunch," Tipton said Tuesday. "It sounded like Anthony to me."
Tipton investigated a 2002 incident in which a nude man stood at a woman's car door and masturbated. Charges against Davenport of indecent exposure, attempted rape and sexual battery stemming from that incident are scheduled for trial Nov. 5.
In each of the recent indecent exposure reports, victims described a black man driving a white car with no hubcaps. A man matching that description also was involved in the attempted abductions, police said.
Davenport was questioned by police on Saturday and held until Monday, when he was charged in connection with grabbing one of the UT students and exposing himself to a woman at a Wal-Mart parking lot, police said.
Other charges are possible, Tipton said.
Davenport's criminal history includes convictions in 1993 of indecent exposure and disorderly conduct, according to court records.
He also has convictions for theft in 1996 and 2000 and more indecent exposure convictions in 1997 and 2000, records show.
Now, I know that it isn't funny that someone tried to abduct two girls, but, me and my strange sense of humor, died laughing when I read this:
In addition to the attempted abductions, a string of indecent exposures also were reported to police in this month. That led Knoxville police investigator Patty Tipton to look for Davenport.
"It was just a gut hunch," Tipton said Tuesday. "It sounded like Anthony to me."
Tipton investigated a 2002 incident in which a nude man stood at a woman's car door and masturbated. Charges against Davenport of indecent exposure, attempted rape and sexual battery stemming from that incident are scheduled for trial Nov. 5.
