Alabama man out on bond after being booked on 15 child sex charges including rape, sodomy

Pauk Carl Kirtland
Pauk Carl Kirtland
photo Pauk Carl Kirtland

A Hollywood, Alabama, man is free on $405,000 bond after being booked Tuesday in Jackson County on 15 counts of child sex charges related to allegations investigators say go back years.

Paul Carl Kirtland, 54, is charged with two counts of sexual abuse of a child less than 12 years old, three counts of rape, six counts of sodomy, one count of enticing a child for immoral purposes, one count of having sexual contact by compulsion and two additional child sex counts, according to arrest records at the Jackson County Jail.

Kirtland was freed on bond Wednesday, jail records show.

Scottsboro police investigators were very tight-lipped Thursday about details because of the nature of the case.

"There are multiple victims and these accusations go back years and years," Scottsboro Police Department Capt. Erik Dohring said.

Dohring said he couldn't discuss the investigation timeline or any other details about the case.

Officials in the Jackson County Circuit Clerk's Office said the 15-count indictment was issued June 13. Kirtland faces an arraignment July 31 in Circuit Court in Scottsboro before Judge Jenifer Holt.

That hearing will be followed by a hearing Aug. 14 on a pretrial docket, court officials said.

Under Alabama criminal law, Kirtland could face up to life in prison if convicted on all counts as charged.

Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www.facebook.com/benbenton1.

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