Scottsboro man accused of attempted child abuse
A 40-year-old Alabama man has been arrested on an attempted child sexual abuse charge for allegedly peeping into an occupied stall in the women’s showers at a local recreational facility.
Joseph Andrew Hancock, of Section, is accused of entering a women’s restroom at the facility on a weekday about two weeks ago and remaining there to peep into a shower stall occupied by an underage girl. Hancock is charged with attempted sexual abuse of a child less than 12 years old, records show.
On Monday he was listed on the Jackson County Jail inmate roster as being held on a $40,000 bond, booking records show.
Hancock was the subject last week of a Scottsboro Police Department plea for help from the public in identifying the man shown in security camera footage taken at the facility, which authorities have not publicly identified. Scottsboro police released images from that footage last week.
Scottsboro police Lt. Erik Dohring told AL.com last week that surveillance footage caught the man now identified as Hancock entering the recreational facility on June 7. A few days later, investigators got a tip from a citizen on his identity, officials told the newspaper.
Dohring said the department launched an investigation after a parent reported a man peeping at a child through the shower stall in the women’s restroom. The man reportedly spent “hours” in the restroom, police said.
Hancock was arrested at a location in the 500 block of Center Street, authorities said.
Dohring said investigators are looking into Hancock’s criminal history as the investigation continues.