A Covington County grand jury has elevated the case against a Red Oak man after he allegedly exposed himself to a female under the age of 12 in 2008.

David Alford Jr., 49, was originally arrested by the Florala Police Department December 2008 after police received a complaint of alleged child abuse that occurred inside the city limits of Florala and charged with two counts of indecent exposure.

Thursday, Alford was re-arrested on a grand jury indictment charging him with two counts of first-degree sodomy, four counts of sex abuse of a child under the age of 12 and enticing a child to enter for immoral purposes.

Star-News archives indicate Alford’s initial arrest was a multi-agency effort involving the FPD, the Lockhart Police Department and Covington County Sheriff’s Office. Additionally, the Drug Task Force was called to the home to recover drug evidence.

FPD’s assistant chief Chris Jackson stated previously that evidence was found inside the residence that “substantiated one of the victim’s claims.”

Jackson said the victim was interviewed at the Southeast Alabama Child Advocacy Center in Dothan, where they specialize in child crimes, both physical abuse and sexual abuse, and since Alford resided outside the city limits of Florala and inside the county’s jurisdiction, CCSO investigators and deputies assisted the department in executing the search warrant on Alford’s residence.

Alford was booked into the Covington County Jail in 2008 under a $2,000 bond; however, he is now currently being held on a $500,000 bond on the new charges.

“We will not tolerate abuse or sexual abuse of any type in our community, and we will seek out and prosecute anyone who puts our citizens – and especially our children – at risk.”

-Stephanie Nelson