Child porn arrest

Joel Wesley Dillard

Attalla police arrested a man Tuesday on multiple counts of possession of child pornography.  Investigators said the arrest stems from information that first came to police in April, when 37 year old Joel Wesley Dillard, was arrested in connection with a stabbing in Attalla. He still faces a first-degree assault charge in that incident, which left a man with a punctured lung.  Investigators said that when police responded to the reported stabbing, Dillard grabbed a backpack and ran. He was apprehended, and the victim in the stabbing told police he believed Dillard had child pornography on his phone and/or computer, both of which were in the backpack he carried. The stabbing victim indicated he’d seen a video that be believed constituted child pornography.

Officers got a search warrant for Dillard’s property and discovered pornographic images of children.  Police found 34 images, which lead to the 34 charges against Dillard.

Dillard had been released on bond after the first-degree assault arrest. Attalla police, with the help of the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, found and arrested him Tuesday in Marshall County. He is jailed on a total $7,500 bond.