COTTONWOOD, Ala. (WDNews) — A Houston County judge on Wednesday morning sentenced a local man to life in prison for the rape of a 95-year-old woman in the Cottonwood area.
Henry D. “Butch” Binford sentenced James Robert Suggs following his conviction in the case. Suggs was originally arrested in November 2024.
Court records show Suggs was indicted by a Houston County grand jury in April 2025.
According to Brandon Barnes with the Houston County Sheriff’s Office, the assault occurred after Suggs picked the woman up in a golf cart and took her to Sealy Bales Creek under the pretense of going fishing. Barnes said the two were neighbors at the time.
The charges stemmed from two encounters that day, during which Suggs removed the victim’s adult diaper to commit the assault. Authorities confirmed the woman had been diagnosed with dementia in 2016.
