A Troy man was arrested Friday after being indicted on two charges of first-degree sodomy.

Melvin Anderson, 34, had previously been indicted on two charges of rape in connection with the sexual abuse of a girl under the age of 12, but prosecutors decided to bring more charges against him during the most recent grand jury.

“(The incidents) happened over a period of time multiple times in two different locations,” said Jon Folmar of the Pike County District Attorney’s office. “Multiple times it was at the mother’s residence and another at the grandmother’s residence here in Troy. During the interview of the young child, she indicated that he might have committed both rape and sodomy. That’s why we chose to put it back before grand jury.”

Anderson was initially arrested and charged with two counts of rape in August 2016. Folmar explained that the decision was made after interviews and work with multiple jurisdictions to bring more charges.

“It’s important to let them consider both aspects instead of just one because they can stand alone by themselves,” Folmar said.

Each charge is a Class A felony punishable by life in prison. Because of the age of the victim, the minimum sentence is 20 years and the sentence must be served without the possibility of parole.

“A child sex offender is not eligible for parole,” said District Attorney Tom Anderson. “They have to serve whatever sentence is imposed. Because of the child’s age, there’s a minimum of 20 years. It’s up to the court to decide whether they’re staggered or run together.”

The code of Alabama decrees that a person is guilty of rape in the first-degree if:

“He or she engages in sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite sex by forcible compulsion … engages in sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite sex who is incapable of consent by reason of being physically helpless or mentally incapacitated or, being 16 years or older, engages in sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite sex who is less than 12 years old.”