Pretrial hearing set in child rape case

A Corbin man is scheduled to appear in Knox Circuit Court on Friday to face a nine-count grand jury indictment charging him with an assortment of sexual abuse offenses.

Carl Wayne Weddle, 36, was indicted by a Knox County grand jury on three counts of Rape in the First Degree for engaging in sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 12 years through the use of forcible compulsion; three counts of Sodomy in the First Degree by engaging in deviate sexual intercourse through forcible compulsion with a child under the age of 12; and three counts of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree by subjecting a child under 12 years of age to sexual contact through the use of forcible compulsion.

Forcible compulsion is defined as “physical force which overcomes resistance, or a threat, express or implied, that places a person in fear of death or physical injury to herself or himself or another person.”

Weddle was a no-show at a scheduled November 22, 2019 Circuit Court proceeding. An indictment warrant was issued for the defendant, and docketed for a status hearing on December 17, 2019. Weddle was arrested at 9 a.m. on December 17, with bond set at $50,000 cash. He remains incarcerated in the Knox County Detention Center.

Weddle was previously arrested in May 2019 and charged with Assault Fourth Degree (Domestic Violence) Minor Injury and Endangering the Welfare of a Minor. He was found guilty on both charges on October 1, 2019 in Knox District Court and sentenced by District Judge Skip Hammons to time incarcerated 360 days, conditionally discharged 360 days. He is to appear in District Court on February 3 for a show cause hearing in that case.