CULLMAN, Ala. – A local man arrested earlier this year after allegedly using a cellphone to record images of a child in a restroom is back in jail following a grand jury indictment. Ethan Edward Richardson, 25, of Cullman, was taken into custody Friday, May 5.
Richardson was first arrested back in February and posted an $80,000 bond. A Cullman County grand jury recently indicted Richardson on 17 counts of possession of child pornography, 17 counts of production of child pornography and 19 counts of aggravated surveillance.
“This past week a Cullman County grand jury indicted Richardson on 53 counts that include possession of child pornography, production of child pornography and aggravated surveillance,” said Cullman County District Attorney Champ Crocker. “These charges arise after an investigation by the Cullman Police Department discovered 18 additional victims.”
Cullman Police Department Public Relations Officer Sgt. Adam Clark said, “I know there were some concerns that Richardson had got out and maybe had some more victims once he got out, but that’s not the case here. These new charges stemmed from the prior arrest and investigation. More victims were discovered which led to the 53 additional charges.”
Cullman Police Chief David Nassetta said he is grateful that this was reported to the police and that they had the opportunity to investigate and uncover what happened. “This is an example where you have people who were very observant, and they were well aware of their surroundings and what was going on and they were able to alert us to a dangerous situation, and that led to the uncovering of a much larger span of crime that occurred,” he said.
Clark commended the district attorney’s office and Wal-Mart (Richardson’s former place of employment) for their cooperation throughout the entire process. Clark also thanked lead investigator, Sgt Shannon Cheatwood, the rest of the Investigation Division and Officer Rob Long, who was the initial responding officer.
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