(TheConservativeTimes.org) – An Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) employee, who also previously chaired a pro-life organization, has been arrested on sex-abuse charges.
Marty Decole Wagner, also known as Cole, was indicted by a grand jury in Montgomery County on June 30. He is accused of having sexual contact with a minor under the age of 12. Being a class B felony in Alabama, this form of abuse to a child under the age of 12 can carry a prison sentence of between two and 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $30,000.
The Alabama State Department of Education has since fired Wagner, where he worked as a government relations employee. A department spokesperson, speaking to Newsweek, said that the allegations are “serious, tragic and shocking,” and that Wagner was only employed there for a few months.
Wagner was released on a $60,000 bond after being arrested, and it is currently not clear if he has an attorney who is speaking on his behalf.
Wagner’s former role with the state’s Department of Education was to work with Republican lawmakers and fundraising organizations to help raise money and attract sponsorships. His LinkedIn profile has been updated since his arrest, showing that he used to work for the Department of Education from February to July 2023.
The Alabama Political Reporter ran an article in 2018 about a pro-life group arguing that Planned Parenthood funds were “freeing up money” to campaign against pro-life candidates. In the story, Wagner was quoted by the publication as the Executive Director of the Alliance for Pro-Life Alabama.
The news comes as several people have been charged with similar abuse after previously working in education-related roles. In May, a former Delaware middle school teacher was charged with multiple counts of raping a student. In another case, a former elementary school teacher in Houston was charged with molesting several of his students after being named “teacher of the year” in 2018.
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