Talladega Sex abuse trials underway

Two separate juries were struck Monday in Talladega County to try two elderly men charged in unrelated cases involving the sexual abuse of children.

82 year old Billy Charles McCall,  of Talladega, is charged with one count each of rape and sodomy in the first degree and rape and sodomy in the second degree, against a female victim who was 13-years-old at the time of the abuse.

A second man was allegedly involved in the abuse of the same victim but committed suicide before his case could be brought to trial.

The victim in this case testified Monday that she confided the abuse to a friend, who contacted the Talladega County Department of Human Resources and the Talladega police. Although she moved, the abuse allegedly continued sporadically for about a year after the initial report.

A forensic examination of a sheet from a bed where the abuse allegedly occurred turned up six stains that tested positive for semen. DNA analysis of these stains matched a sample collected from McCall.

The state has one more expert witness to call today and will likely rest. It was not immediately clear if the defense will present a case or not.

McCall is charged with rape and sodomy in the first degree for the alleged use of force against the victim. The rape and sodomy in the second degree charges stem from the fact that the alleged victim in this case was between the ages of 12 and 16.

Across the hall, a separate jury heard the state’s case against 79 year old Gerald Edward Amason,  of Sylacauga, who is charged with sodomy in the first degree involving a male victim who was between the ages of 7 and 9 years old when the alleged abuse took place.

The victim, the victim’s mother and the victim’s grandmother all testified for the state Monday afternoon, and the state rested its case. All three offered similar testimony of a confrontation of Amason, where he neither admitted nor denied the allegations.

In this case, the sodomy in the first degree charge stems from the fact that the alleged victim was less than 12 years old at the time of the offense.

Rape in the first degree and sodomy in the first degree are both class A felonies in Alabama, punishable upon conviction by 10 to 99 years or life in prison.