Hopkins pleads guilty to sex abuse

By Staff
A Hartselle man will serve three years in prison after pleading guilty to sexual abuse.
Billy Ray Hopkins, 56, of 19 Cagle Road, pled guilty last week to two counts of sexual abuse in the first degree. The victims were girls ages 11 and 2.
He was sentenced to two concurrent 10 year terms in prison, split so he will spend three years in prison and the remaining seven on probation. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
Hopkins was originally arrested in 2007 on sexual abuse charges in connection with one girl. He was indicted on those charges that year and investigators in that case found evidence of another case. He was indicted on those charges in March and pled guilty in both cases earlier this month.