An Opp man was arrested Thursday morning on charges of sexual abuse of a child less than 12 years old.

After an alert from the Department of Human Resources that something was happening to the victim, Opp Police Department investigators arrested 57-year-old Timmy Wayne Norris.

The incident happened within the city limits, and the victim was a young female with whom Norris was familiar, according to OPD Chief Mike McDonald.

McDonald said the department doesn’t know much about the man other than he is a resident and works out of town. McDonald said the OPD is unaware of any prior criminal activity.

The child, to the best of McDonald’s knowledge, is OK.

According to officials at the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center, there were 537 arrests reported statewide in 2013 related to sex abuse and 36 of those involved juveniles.

“Our judges take a really dim view of anyone who messes with a child,” McDonald said. “It’s just one of those things they don’t take lightly. It seems that it is happening much more often, more often than we would like.”

The investigation is ongoing, and Norris is being held in the Covington County Jail on a $300,000 bond.