‘If you see something, … say something’
A growing number of child abuse cases involve possession and production of child pornography. A particularly shocking case surfaced two weeks ago in Franklin County after investigators arrested a 22-year-old and charged her with 106 cases of child pornography and sodomy involving a six-year-old girl.
The charges included 30 counts each of production of child pornography, possession of child pornography, and dissemination of child pornography, 11 counts of first-degree sexual abuse, three counts of first-degree sodomy, one county of directing a child to engage in a sexual act, and one count of enticing a child into a room for immoral purposes.
During the Aniah’s Law hearing on April 17 for the suspect, two inmates who were present in the courtroom for hearings on their own cases were moved to tears after they heard the investigator’s testimony.
District Judge Jamie Sumerel was so bothered by the testimony he denied the suspect’s request for bond.
“I can’t take the risk of you having contact with another child,” Sumerel said of his decision.
Then on Friday, Franklin Sheriff’s investigators arrested the girl’s boyfriend, a 26-year-old from Carrollton, Georgia. He was charged with 30 counts of dissemination of child pornography, 30 counts of production of child pornography, 11 counts of sexual abuse of a child under 12 years old, three counts of first degree sodomy, and one count each of directing a child to engage in sodomy, and enticing a child for immoral purposes.
The boyfriend’s Aniah’s Law hearing was scheduled to be held on Tuesday (April 21).
This case drives home the message that Frankline County officials emphasized at the first of this month as they kicked off Child Abuse Awareness Month.
In Franklin County during 2025, Sheriff Shannon Oliver said his deputies investigated 85 cases involving child and sexual abuse.
“For a county the size of Franklin County, that is way too many,” said Sheriff Shannon Oliver. “Even one case is way too many.”
It’s a growing problem throughout northwest Alabama.
From 2021 to 2025, Cramer Children’s Center dealt with 1,123 child abuse cases in Lauderdale and Colbert counties — 673 in Lauderdale and 450 in Colbert. Of those 1,123 cases, 698 involved sexual abuse.
Newly appointed Lauderdale County District Attorney Angie Hamilton said her office sees an average of 24 sexual abuse and nearly 30 other types of child abuse cases every year.
Colbert County Sheriff’s Chief Investigator Tyler Evans believes every adult has responsibility when it comes to child abuse.
“Like the age-old saying, if you see something, say something,” Evans said recently. “You have to put any personal feelings aside and do your job, because you’re the voice for that victim.”
Perhaps the saddest element of child abuse is the fact that the perpetrators are often someone the victim knows.
“That makes it difficult for the child, because these are people they’re supposed to love and trust,” said Hamilton. “It’s confusing to them. It’s not a stranger jumping out at you and trying to hurt you.”
Judge Sumerel’s hard stance in the 22-year-old suspect’s case is a statement of the importance of standing up for those who can’t stand up for themselves.
“As a community, we’ve got to step up for children and be their voice,” Sumerel said. “If you see something, make a phone call.
