According to a report on al.com – Etowah County Chief Executive Officer Patrick Simms has been arrested in connection with a charge of Child Sexual Abuse.
Chambers County Sheriff Sid Lockhart has issued a news release saying Simms was named as a suspect in a case involving the sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12; the incident allegedly occurred on or around February 8th of this year.
Simms surrendered to investigators at the Chambers County Detention Center Thursday – posting bond and being released later that day.
Simms was placed on paid administrative leave last week, during a brief special meeting of the Etowah County Commission; county officials refused to comment on the situation at the time.
He had been the county’s chief administrator since January, 2006, and had been named the 2012 County Administrator of the Year by the Alabama County Administrators Association
Anyone with information regarding this case should contact the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office at (334) 864-4333.
(al.com/www.al.com)