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Convicted sex offender arrested
By Bill Kemp-Associate Editor
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ELMORE COUNTY - A white male entered a Windsong subdivision residence, reportedly through a small opening in a back door cut out for pets, shortly after midnight last Monday. The subject then sexually abused a 13-year-old girl while her parents were sleeping.
The incident initiated the arrest and extradition of convicted sex offender Reginald Turner from Nassau County, Florida last week.
Turner was a convicted Jefferson County sex offender in 1996. He was convicted on three counts of enticing a child for immoral purposes and given a five-year prison sentence.
Turner served just three years before being released and moving to 352 Don Adams Road in Eclectic in October, 1999.
"He's made an example of himself. He's proved that pedophiles cannot be trusted. Pedophiles never quit," said District Attorney Randall Houston.
According to the Elmore County Sheriff's Department, a short time after entering the residence, the alarm activated and the girl's mother awoke and walked into the living room to investigate.
There she was confronted by an intruder that came from her daughter's bedroom. The intruder immediately ran through the kitchen and out the back door.
The father pursued the subject and was able to confront him miles later near the intersection of Redland Road and Rife Range Road.
After a brief verbal confrontation, the father was able to jot down the tag number of the vehicle in question and later identified Turner from photographs.
Turner had recently legally moved to the Springville Community in St. Clair County, but had fled to Nassau County, Florida near Jacksonville.
Turner had been the subject of major community concern when he notified authorities he was moving to the Eclectic area in October of 1999.
A special public meeting was organized in Kent by local citizens hoping to block Turner from moving to the community.
In a strange turn of events, Turner showed up at the meeting and addressed the hostile crowd.
After listening to Turner's testimony, many of the residents mood changed to sympathy and one resident invited him to attend his church.
"I'm not cured. Nobody's cured. It's like being an alcoholic. I'm not going to commit any more crimes. I went through the most extensive sex offender treatment Alabama has," said Turner at the meeting.
During the meeting, Turner explained the incident that landed him in prison.
"I was 19 and they (boys) were 12, and they were no relation," Turner said. "My first wife divorced me as a result."
Turner is charged with sex abuse first with a $10,000 bond and burglary second carrying a $20,000 bond. He was extradited back to the Elmore County Jail on Friday.
Details of the case are still under investigation by the Elmore County Sheriff's Department.
