State Briefs: Children's Minister Faces Sex Abuse Charges

By Muscle Shoals
Montgomery Advertiser
February 6, 2014

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20140206/NEWS02/302060016/State-briefs-Children-s-minister-faces-sex-abuse-charges?nclick_check=1

The children’s minister at a northwest Alabama church is facing more than 30 counts of sex abuse.

Muscle Shoals Police Chief Robert Evans said 42-year-old Jeffrey Dale Eddie of Muscle Shoals is charged with 31 counts of second-degree sodomy, three counts of sexual abuse of a child younger than 12 and two counts of possession of obscene material depicting children.

Eddie’s lawyer, Billy Underwood, said his client is a well-loved children’s minister at Highland Park Baptist Church.

Underwood told The TimesDaily that there are two sides to every story. Underwood said he thinks there’s “another side to the story that might exonerate him.”

Evans said police began investigating after authorities received a call from someone at the church who was concerned about Eddie’s behavior and actions.

Ex-Social Security claims representative indicted

BIRMINGHAM – A grand jury has indicted a former Social Security Administration claims representative accused of stealing personal information and benefits from recipients.

Prosecutors said 33-year-old Alex Jamane Flowers of Fairfield is charged with seven counts of wire fraud, one count of theft of government property and two counts of aggravated identity theft. Officials said the crimes took place between May and July of 2013.

Prosecutors said Flowers used his position to cause the Social Security Administration to issue payments to beneficiaries that he directed into his own bank accounts.

Flowers is being represented by the Federal Public Defenders office for the Northern District of Alabama. His attorney declined to comment on the case.

Coach accused of having sex with student resigns

VINA – A former high school basketball coach accused of having a sexual relationship with a student has resigned.

The TimesDaily of Florence reported that the Franklin County Board of Education accepted Brian Keeton‘s resignation during a meeting Tuesday night.

Keeton was arrested in November on charges of a school employee having sex with a student under the age of 19. He had been suspended without pay until his resignation.

Keeton was arrested about a week after another teacher from the same school was arrested for the same charges. The district accepted that teacher’s resignation during its meeting in January.