RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WGNS News) - A criminal case that involved a restaurant manager who was accused of having an illegal and inappropriate relationship with one of his employees has come to a close in Rutherford County. The case revolved around a suspect who was facing at least 10 counts of “Especially Aggravated Sexual Exploitation of a Minor” and 2 counts of “Statutory Rape by an Authority Figure.”

Rutherford County District Attorney General Jennings Jones said the case began in 2023, when police responded to a confrontation at an area business... Detectives began the investigation at the pizza eatery in Smyrna, according to the DA. From there, more details emerged... (Photo above and below article: Edwardo Rodriguez, 55)

When Detective Stephen Hannah took on the case, suspect Edwardo Rodriguez was old enough to be the victims grandfather... From there, investigators quickly learned the evidence continued to build... As the investigation progressed, Detective Hannah continued gathering details that later became part of the criminal case presented through the judicial system...

Rodriguez was eventually arrested, and the case later moved forward by indictment... The case had been scheduled for trial during the first week of June, but that trial did not take place. Instead, Rodriguez entered a plea last month, resolving the case before jurors ever had a chance to be seated... Following the plea, Rodriguez spent the next few weeks behind bars at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center in Murfreesboro.

A short time after being sentenced by Judge Jimmy Turner last month, Rodriguez was transferred from the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center in Murfreesboro to a Tennessee Department of Correction prison, where he is expected to serve a 20-year sentence. The convicted sex offender will turn 56 next month (August 2026), while behind bars at a state correction facility.

In this most recent case, the subject was represented by counsel, Russell "Rusty" Perkins, while the State was represented by assistant district attorney Sharon Lee Reddick.

On a side-note, this was not the first time Rodriguez has faced legal trouble involving a minor. He was charged with the rape of a child in 1988 and criminal attempt to commit aggravated sexual battery in 2001. He was also convicted of violating sex offender registry laws in both 2012 and 2015.