Former community leader charged with indecent exposure

A former Springfield resident who once sat on the board of the Bransford Community Center and preached as a seminarian at a Kentucky church was arrested on an indecent exposure charge Wednesday after a woman said he exposed himself at a Nashville laundromat.

The victim in the case told Metro Police that she was outside Clean World Laundry, 3441 Lebanon Pike, smoking a cigarette just before 2 p.m. on July 22 when she saw Robin Knox, 52, through the window, inside the business, according to an affidavit from the Nashville Criminal Court Clerk’s Office.

In a graphic account, the woman claims Knox was looking at her while holding his exposed genitals.

The incident was recorded on video surveillance at the laundromat, the affidavit said. It also notes that Knox was interviewed about the incident and “made a complete confession regarding the incident and his involvement.”

Knox was free on $1,500 bond Friday morning, and when reached for comment via phone, he refused to talk about the allegations set forth in the affidavit.

However, he did note that he’d moved from Springfield to Nashville in April and severed ties with Trinity Episcopal Church in Russellville, Ky., where he taught Sunday school classes and preached as a seminarian since 2011.

The church’s deacon, Dr. Michael Vollman, said Friday afternoon that Knox had left Trinity several months ago ahead of an out-of-area move.

Knox’s resume, publicly listed on LinkedIn, said he served as director of the Jack C. Massey School of Business at Belmont University from 2003-2004.

Belmont University spokesman Greg Pillon verified that Knox was employed as a director of the graduate school program and not in a leadership position during that time.

He also attended Vanderbilt University, where he received a Masters of Divinity in 2015, according to a university spokeswoman.

Knox's LinkedIn profile shows him as an active Bransford Community Center board member, but officials said Friday the profile was inaccurate.

Robert Gardner, president of Greater Faith Community Action Corporation, which oversees the Bransford Community Center and its after-school program, said Knox submitted his resignation letter on April 25, 2016, less than a year after he first joined the board.

Knox is due in court next month to face the charges.

Reach Nicole Young at 615-306-3570 or nyoung@tennessean.com.