Anniston woman charged with failing to report sexual abuse of daughter

An Anniston mother has been arrested on charges of sexual abuse after failing  to report to authorities that her 5-year-old daughter was being sexually abused by a man.

Calhoun County Sheriff Larry Amerson said the woman’s daughter told her several times that a man whom the mother knew was inappropriately touching her, but the mother failed to tell police, and did not keep the child away from him after learning of the abuse.

The woman was arrested and charged with felony first-degree sexual abuse of a child younger than 12. She was released on a $7,500 bond.

Sheriff’s deputies also arrested the man and charged him with first-degree rape and first-degree sodomoy. Those acts happened between June 1 and June 30, according to a warrant for his arrest.

The Star typically withholds the names of those accused of sex crimes unless they plead guilty or are convicted, because the stigma associated with such crimes can linger even if the suspect is exonerated. The Star does not publish the names of victims of such abuse.The man is was being held in the Calhoun County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 16. His bond was set at $60,000. The mother is set to appear in court Oct. 30.