Former NBA player Jim Farmer faces new sex trafficking charges

Former NBA player Jim Farmer is facing new charges related to sex trafficking after he was indicted by a Rutherford County Grand Jury.

Farmer, 55, was first charged in October with sex trafficking after a two-day Tennessee Bureau of Investigation operation. In total, 16 men were arrested on charges of seeking sex from minors.

The charge against the Franklin resident was tossed out by a General Sessions judge in November after hearing no evidence that supported the charge, Farmer's attorneys said at the time.

Farmer's new charges include attempted trafficking for sexual servitude, attempted patronizing prostitution and three counts of attempted solicitation of a minor.

According to an affidavit from the first arrest, Farmer responded to an adult escort advertisement for meeting a juvenile for sex.

During communication over the ad, an undercover officer identified herself as a 16-year-old girl. Farmer agreed to pay $170 to have sex with the girl, the affidavit shows.

Farmer arrived at a predetermined location on Oct. 25 made between the two where he was arrested by authorities.

Attorneys Worrick Robinson and Will Fraley, who represent Farmer, first learned of the indictment Friday morning.

"Indictments were pursued despite a former hearing where the General Sessions Judge reviewed of all audio and video evidence compiled, heard testimony from the lead detective and ultimately made the determination that the charge should be dismissed because the evidence did not meet the lowest probable cause standard to bind the case over to the grand jury," a joint statement from Worrick and Fraley says. "Mr. Farmer will plead not guilty at his next court appearance, and will request an expedited trial on the merits of this case where he expects to be once again be determined innocent of the charges against him."

Farmer was arrested on the new charges on Friday on a $100,000 bond at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center and was released that same day, records show.

Farmer played college basketball at Alabama and was selected in the first round of the 1987 NBA draft. He spent six seasons in the league, playing for Denver, Dallas, Utah, Seattle and Philadelphia.

Since then he worked as a model and country music singer. In the early 2000s, Farmer released an album titled “Baby Come On.”

Natalie Alund contributed to this report.

SUPPORT OUR WORK: To support award-winning journalism here in Murfreesboro, sign up for a digital subscription to DNJ.com.

Reach Brinley Hineman at bhineman@gannett.com, at 615-278-5164 and on Twitter @brinleyhineman.