Man is charged with solicitation

RED BAY — A Phil Campbell man is being held in the Franklin County Jail on a $150,000 bond after he was arrested and charged with allegedly sending an obscene photo and asking a 13-year-old girl to have sex with him.

Red Bay Police Chief Janna Jackson said her department was contacted by the Franklin County Department of Human Resources on July 15 regarding a complaint that a 13-year-old girl had an “obscene photo” on her phone which was sent to her.

Jackson said an investigation began and the person who sent the photo was identified. Police interviewed 26-year-old Joseph Stults, who later confessed to sending a photo to the girl and asking to have sex with her.

Stults was arrested and charged on Friday with electronic solicitation of a child and distribution of obscene material to a child.

He was transferred from the Red Bay City Jail to the Franklin County Jail on July 20.