Man charged with sexually abusing relative for seven years

Sep. 12—A Morgan County man admitted to having sexual contact with a female relative for seven years beginning when she was 9 years old and was charged last week with felony sexual abuse of a child, according to the Morgan County Sheriff's Office.

Brandon Lee Miller, 47, with addresses listed in Somerville and Falkville, was released Thursday from Morgan County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bond.

According to an affidavit filed in Morgan County District Court by Investigator William Riley, Deputy Kel Roberts on Sept. 2 responded to a sexual abuse call in Lacey's Spring, where the mother of the victim told the deputy she had just found out about the sexual abuse and that Miller "left home suicidal with a pistol."

A family member found him "at a park by the river in Decatur," where he apologized and asked her to leave him alone so he could "finish what he started to do," according to the affidavit.

Decatur police, with body cams on, then approached him and asked if he was OK. He responded that he had considered harming himself because he had been touching the relative, and that while God and the victim had forgiven him, "he cannot forgive himself," according to Riley's affidavit.

Miller was transported to Decatur Morgan Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.

Riley interviewed the victim, who said Miller began touching her inappropriately beginning in 2014 and did so multiple times per day for three or four days a week until February 2021, according to the affidavit.

The court ordered that he be supervised by Morgan County Pretrial Supervision while out on bond and that he wear an ankle monitor. His probation is also conditioned upon him having no contact or communication with the victim.

— eric@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2435. Twitter @DD_Fleischauer.