Freeman faces two exposure charges

Published 9:21 pm Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Two separate charges of indecent exposure involving minors have been added to the case against a Troy man accused of sexually harassing juveniles.

Tripp Dennis Freeman, 20, now faces a total of six misdemeanor charges and three felony charges. The charges include sodomy first degree, two charges of enticing a child and four misdemeanor harassment charges. He was being held in the Pike County Jail on a $203,000 bond as of Wednesday night.

Freeman was arrested officially on the indecent exposure charges Monday and Tuesday, said Troy Police Spokesman Sgt. Benny Scarbrough.

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The first is alleged to have taken place in 2009 at a ball field in Troy. Scarbrough said the incident was reported on May 19. The second incident is said to have happened earlier this year, but Scarbrough would not say where the incident took place.

Freeman worked for several years as a scorekeeper with the Troy Parks and Recreation Department, although he was not employed with the department this year.

After his first arrest on a harassment charge on May 11, he was banned from all city recreation facilities.

Scarbrough would not provide any other details about these additional charges.

Police have said the case against Freeman began to unfold after an incident at the May 7 Relay for Life in which he allegedly made salacious comments to a 13-year-old boy.

The boy’s parents filed harassment charges against Freeman on May 11.

Those parents also contacted other parents to encourage them to talk to their children about possible contact with Freeman.

Those conversations led to the discovery of an alleged February 2007 incident at Bush Memorial Baptist Church, which led to the first-degree sodomy charge, as well as the others being reported.

The other harassment charges include one filed on May 13, stemming from a from a March incident; a May 14 filing, stemming from a June 2009 incident; and a May 17 filing, said to stem from an incident in late January or early February of this year.

Both child enticement charges stem from incidents alleged in 2009 and another April 29 of this year. Records in the Pike County Circuit Clerk’s office indicate both incidents took place at Franklin Ball Field.

According to Alabama State Code, sodomy is a Class A felony which carries a sentence of 10 years to life.

Enticement, which is described as someone with “lascivious” intent attempting to invite a child under the age of 16 into a vehicle, home or other private place for the purpose of sodomy or sexual intercourse, is a class C felony that carries a penalty of one to 10 years, if convicted.

However, an indictment in the cases must be granted by a Grand Jury.

Pike County District Attorney Gary McAliley said even though some Grand Jury hearings took place on Monday, the next term is not scheduled until October. He said there is time for cases to be added to that docket.