MAN WHO RAPES THREE WOMEN IN TWO DAYS BEHIND BARS NOW

635489981986933012-athaOver a two day period, a Knoxville man is accused of raping three people, robbing three businesses and kidnapping three victims.

Officials arrested Jonathan Michael Atha, 27, for the crimes that happened in Sevier and Knox counties.

On Tuesday morning, Pigeon Forge police said Atha went into the Sunset Cottage Rentals at 3630 River Road at about 10:18 a.m. Investigators said he flashed two employees a handgun, told them to get the cash boxes, and ordered to take off their clothes in the back room of the business. At that point, a third employee walked into the office. Atha also ordered her to get into the back room and left the building. Security cameras at the Food City next door captured Atha on video leaving the crime scene.

On the same day, Sevier County deputies said Atha came into the Willow Massage Therapy Spa located on Chapman Highway in Seymour. After flashing a weapon, investigators said Atha ordered two therapists to give him money and forced them into a bathroom where he raped them. Atha then ran away with the cash, according a Sevier County press release.

The next day, a woman told Knoxville police a man raped and robbed her while she was packing boxes at a storage facility on Central Avenue Pike early Wednesday morning.

Knoxville police managed to arrest Atha at his home the same morning.

Here are the charges Atha is facing:

*Pigeon Forge incident: three counts of aggravated robbery and three counts of aggravated kidnapping
*Seymour incident: two counts of aggravated robbery and two counts of aggravated rape
*Knoxville robbery: aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated robbery