SEVIERVILLE — One of the original alleged victims in rape charges against local physician Rodney Carter was dropped from the case against him in a new indictment issued by the grand jury, even as two new alleged victims were added to the list.

Carter now faces four counts of rape and three counts of sexual battery involving four male patients at his clinic. That essentially means the new charges added one more count of rape to the amount he was already facing.

Prosecutor Steve Hawkins said the victim whose charges were dropped changed his testimony after talking to defense attorney Bryan Delius or representatives of the defense team.

He didn’t follow up with what he told the police,” Hawkins said. “We didn’t think we could prove it beyond a reasonable doubt,”

The alleged victims are named in the indictment, but The Mountain Press does not typically identify alleged victims of sex crimes.

One of the new allegations dates back to August 2005; previously the earliest incident dated to June 2007.

Delius had previously said the defense quickly found evidence that would exonerate Carter.

The new indictment is a superseding indictment, meaning it included the previous charges and added new ones. With new allegations added to the mix, it isn’t clear whether the criminal trial against Carter will be rescheduled from Dec. 9. Carter is free on $200,000 bond.

A grand jury first indicted Carter in March. The Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners suspended his license soon after.

All the allegations relate to examinations that took place in Carter’s office at LeConte Family Practice.

The practice remains open; Carter hired another physician after his suspension. It recently relocated to 300 Prince St.

jfarrell@themountainpress.com