Newbern Man Arrested for Kidnapping and Attempted Rape of Child
- Steven Devonte Harris, 30, of Newbern, Tennessee, was arrested and charged with kidnapping and attempted rape following an early-morning attack on a 10-year-old girl on September 23, 2026,...
- According to an affidavit signed by TBI Special Agent Tyler Huelsing, an unidentified man removed an air conditioning unit from a bedroom window of an apartment in the...
- Investigators searching the wooded area recovered a belt, a vape, and a green sweatshirt near a small tree.
Steven Devonte Harris, 30, of Newbern, Tennessee, was arrested and charged with kidnapping and attempted rape following an early-morning attack on a 10-year-old girl on September 23, 2026, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Law enforcement agencies, including the Newbern Police Department, the Dyer County Sheriff’s Office, and the FBI task force, apprehended Harris Wednesday night following a rapid DNA match that linked him to evidence collected from the scene.
Affidavit Details Abduction and Attempted Attack
According to an affidavit signed by TBI Special Agent Tyler Huelsing, an unidentified man removed an air conditioning unit from a bedroom window of an apartment in the 400 block of East Johnson Street. The assailant reached inside, grabbed the 10-year-old girl while she clutched her comforter, and pulled her through the window. The affidavit states the man dragged the child to a wooded area behind the apartments, secured her to a tree with his belt, placed a knife to her throat, and declared he was going to rape her before walking away. The victim freed herself and ran to a neighboring apartment, where she used a Ring doorbell camera to communicate with a neighbor for help. The assailant returned, chased the girl behind the adjacent apartment, and began strangling her. The attack stopped when a woman arrived at the scene, honked her car horn, and screamed for help, prompting the suspect to flee. Special agents later reviewed Ring doorbell video showing the victim disheveled and covered in leaf litter.
Rapid DNA Testing Links Suspect to Scene Evidence
Investigators searching the wooded area recovered a belt, a vape, and a green sweatshirt near a small tree. Newbern police officers located the girl’s comforter several yards away near a cellular access road, and agents found the displaced window unit on the ground. District Attorney Danny Goodman stated that investigators had identified possible local suspects based on prior events. Items recovered from the search area were rushed to the TBI Crime Lab in Nashville for rapid DNA processing. Results returned near midnight confirmed Steven Devonte Harris as the source of the DNA on the evidence, which Goodman said confirmed investigators were on the right track.
Charges Filed and Community Response
During a subsequent police interview, officials noted that Harris was deceptive and presented inconsistencies before admitting to being in the area and removing the window unit. The TBI charged Harris with two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, two counts of aggravated assault, aggravated burglary, and attempted rape of a child. He was booked into the Dyer County Jail on a $2 million bond. Newbern Police Chief Greg Barr expressed community relief over the arrest of a suspect. Goodman stated that the case will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and emphasized that authorities do not believe an ongoing threat exists, characterizing the attack as a single, isolated incident.