Marion County detective pleads guilty in sex offender registry records case
MARION COUNTY, Tenn. — A Marion County Sheriff's Office detective has pleaded guilty to official misconduct in a case involving falsified sex offender registry documents.
Robert Eugene Hargis entered the guilty plea Tuesday in Marion County Circuit Court, resolving part of the criminal case that began after a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation probe into forged signatures on sex offender registry forms.
The TBI says it launched its investigation in 2025 at the request of 12th Judicial District Attorney General Courtney Lynch after concerns were raised about signatures on required registry compliance forms.
At the time, Hargis served as the Marion County Sheriff's Office's Sex Offender Registry Compliance Officer and was responsible for obtaining signatures from registered offenders verifying they were complying with state law.
Investigators determined that several signatures on those documents had been falsified, according to the TBI.
A Marion County grand jury later indicted Hargis on two counts of official misconduct and eight counts of tampering with government records.
Court records show Hargis pleaded guilty to one count of official misconduct. The remaining official misconduct count and all eight tampering with government records charges were placed on judicial diversion.
If Hargis successfully completes three years of probation and complies with the court's conditions, those charges can ultimately be dismissed.
The court ordered Hargis to serve supervised probation through the Tennessee Department of Correction. The official misconduct conviction is followed by consecutive diversionary probation periods on the remaining counts.
When Hargis was indicted last year, District Attorney General Courtney Lynch voluntarily recused herself from the case.
District Attorney General Pro Tem D. Michael Dunavant was appointed to handle the prosecution.