KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A 70-year-old Lenoir City man accused of aggravated statutory rape of a minor at a Knoxville postal facility entered a not guilty plea during a Feb. 2 detention hearing in federal court.
John Dusty Best was an employee of the United States Post Office at the processing center on Weisgarber Road at the time of the allegation.
Best was arrested on federal charges Jan. 26. He briefly went missing after the FBI informed him of a search warrant to be executed at his home, according to federal court records.
In the criminal complaint, investigators say Best and an unidentified 17-year-old male were in a motor vehicle wreck October 30, 2021 while leaving a gas station on Lamar Alexander Parkway in Blount County. The teen was driving Best’s vehicle but could not produce a driver’s license or proof of insurance. The Maryville Police officer who responded to the crash noted “both were observed acting nervously.”
