Sexual Assault

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — A judge sentenced a former federal corrections officer to 42 months in prison for sexual assault of two prisoners and lying to investigators. The U.S. attorney in Birmingham announced the sentence in a news release Wednesday. 

SELMA, Ala. (AP) — A member of the Perry County Board of Education was arrested after a woman accused him of trying to sexually assault her during a fishing outing. 

WAKA-TV reports that 66-year-old Donald Nichols was arrested at home Thursday night and charged with sexual abuse and attempted rape. Dallas County Sheriff Mike Granthum says a woman told investigators she and Nichols were out fishing when he began making sexual advances.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A federal appeals court says an Alabama man condemned to die for a killing more than 30 years ago should get a new sentencing hearing because of questions over his mental competence.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals released the decision Tuesday in the case of James McWilliams.

Court records show McWilliams is on death row after being convicted of sexually assaulting and killing Patricia Vallery Reynolds in Tuscaloosa in 1984.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — A former Alabama youth pastor has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for sexually abusing a young girl.

The Tuscaloosa News reports 37-year-old Christopher Cody Stutts pleaded guilty Tuesday to abusing a child younger than 12. Four other charges, including rape and sodomy were dismissed as part of a plea deal.

Six women are suing a north Alabama rheumatologist, accusing him of sexual assault and inappropriate behavior while they were his patients.

News outlets report the lawsuit was filed in Morgan County Circuit Court Wednesday against Dr. Michael Dick of Decatur.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit have been identified by pseudonyms, seeking to preserve privacy. Dick referred questions to his lawyer, who declined to comment.

The sheriff of Tuscaloosa County is threatening legal action against social media commenters and others who have criticized his department over the suicide of a former student at the University of Alabama.

Tuscaloosa County Sheriff Ron Abernathy raised the possibility of legal action yesterday during a news conference to discuss the death of Megan Rondini and an investigation into her allegations of sexual assault.

The chairman of an Alabama newspaper company has been accused of assaulting female employees by spanking them while he was a newsroom executive decades ago.

Multiple news outlets have reported that at least three women are accusing H. Brandt Ayers, the chairman of Consolidated Publishing Co., of hitting and assaulting them while Ayers was the publisher at the Anniston Star. Consolidated operates that newspaper along with five others.

A conservative group known for clandestine, undercover investigations has been tied to a woman who falsely told the Washington Post that Roy Moore had impregnated her as a teenager.

That’s according to a story published in the Washington Post yesterday. Moore has been accused of multiple instances of sexual misconduct recently. But the paper determined that one accuser who approached them earlier this month, identified as Jaime Phillips, made up a story likely designed to embarrass the paper.

U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore says the latest accusations of sexual misconduct against him are "absolutely false."

Standing by his wife at a hastily called news conference yesterday, Moore said he did not know Beverly Young Nelson and "never did what she said I did."