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The winner of the first season of Netflix’s survival competition series Outlast faces heinous allegations in Tennessee.
Paul Preece Jr., 51, a resident of Seymour, has been accused of raping a minor.
Preece was officially charged with rape of a child, aggravated sexual battery and attempted rape of a child, according to WVLT, WBIR, and WATE.
Preece was arrested by Knox County Sheriff’s Deputies on Friday, March 6, and remains at the Knox County Jail on a $150,000 bond.
Investigators have not released any additional details about the sexual assault, including the age of the victim.
Preece was a contestant during the inaugural 2023 season of the reality series, which was executive produced by Jason Bateman. Outlast pitted 16 contestants against each other in teams of three, setting them out into the Alaskan wilderness to survive off of the land.
There have been three seasons of the show, with a fourth greenlit. Preece and fellow contestants Nick Radner and Seth Lueker took home the $1 million prize.
In season 1, the players were described as “lone wolf” survivalists, and they were challenged to work together in teams, not completing any part of the competition alone.
The second season featured a variety of people working a myriad of occupations. Players were only allowed to exit by firing a flare gun, which is automatically triggered by emergency rescue or medical evacuation.
The last remaining team of two or more people wins the grand prize. Once a specific number of days have passed with only two teams still in the game, a navigation and endurance race is initiated to decide the winner.
All eight episodes of season 1 debuted on Netflix on March 10, 2023.
The first season was filmed in the autumn of 2021 in Alaska, near the Neka River, on Chichagof Island, west of Juneau.
According to the Outlast promotional materials, “Paul hunted small game out of necessity for his family table” as a child.
“Today, he hunts big game to provide additional food for his family,” the promo description added. “He considers himself a professional hunter and fisherman and passes on his love for the outdoors by teaching skills to youth and novice hunters each season, as well as guiding veterans on whitetail bowhunting trips.”
“I’ve had a unique life, growing up in eastern Kentucky, that most people outside of very rural areas would struggle to deal with, from being homeless as a child to living in an old coal camp,” he said. “Many nights, I went to bed hungry and cold growing up. I’ve been blessed that those days are left in my childhood but equally blessed that they are forever etched into my DNA. I believe Alaska will throw everything she has at me, but I’ve been unknowingly preparing for this all my life.”
If you know of a young person who is being exploited or is the victim of a crime, you are urged to report it to your local FBI field office by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI. Tips can also be left at tips.fbi.gov
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