TROY, Ala. (WDNews) — Troy police have arrested a 66-year-old Troy man on multiple felony charges related to the sexual abuse of a child following what authorities described as an extensive investigation.
Police Chief Danny Barron announced Tuesday, Dec. 17, that Ronnie M. Christian was taken into custody and charged with a total of 15 felony counts. According to police, Christian faces two counts of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12, with bond set at $25,000 per charge, and three counts of first-degree sexual abuse, with bond set at $15,000 per charge.
Christian is also charged with five counts of first-degree sodomy and five counts of first-degree rape. Those charges are currently held without bond pending an Aniah’s Law hearing, authorities said.
Aniah’s Law allows Alabama judges greater discretion to deny bail for individuals charged with certain violent offenses, including first-degree rape.
Christian was initially processed at the Troy City Jail before being transferred to the Pike County Jail, where he remains in custody.
“This has been an extensive and emotionally difficult investigation,” Barron said in a statement. He credited the Troy Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division, the Pike County Department of Human Resources, the Pike Regional Child Advocacy Center and the Pike County District Attorney’s Office for their work on the case.
No additional details were released, and the investigation remains ongoing.
