Two men jailed in county on sex offenses

Two Escambia County (Ala.) residents with Andalusia addresses are being held on sex offense charges in separate cases.

Brandon Gerald Hildreth, 20, 21690 Old Salt Road, Andalusia, was arrested Tuesday and charged with sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12, sodomy I, production of child pornography and possession of child pornography.

Sheriff's investigators said they received information that Hildreth was involved in illegal sexual contact with a minor in the Brewton area and an investigation began.

He was scheduled for a bond hearing Wednesday afternoon.

Thomas Earl Douglas, 72, 6817 Marietta Road, Andalusia, is being held in the Escambia County Detention Center without bond on multiple charges involving violation of the Sexual Offense Notification Act.

Inv. Bruce Shue said Douglas was originally convicted on Nov. 24, 2009 in federal court in Vermont for enticing a minor by computer and transporting child pornography.

Under his federal probation, Douglas was ordered not to have access to the Internet.

Shue said Douglas came to his office on May 31 to register as a sex offender in Escambia County. Officers went to his residence on June 12 for a compliance check and he was not home. Officers returned July 3 and Douglas was found in possession of a smart phone. Shue said the phone was seized because Douglas had live Internet accounts on his phone that were forbidden by law. A search of the phone revealed 19 on-line social media accounts and two photos of minors undressed.

He was charged with two counts of possession of child pornography and one SORNA violation for failing to register the social media sites.

When arrested on Sept. 6, Douglas was found to be in possession of another smart phone with Internet activity.