Hartselle man faces sex crime charges
By Staff Reports
A Hartselle man and former Decatur pastor was arrested by officers with the Hartselle Police Department and charged with sex crimes this past week.
Danny Duane Pitts, 58, was arrested at his residence for a warrant issued after a grand jury indictment Nov. 5. The grand jury indicted Pitts for sodomy in the first and second degrees.
According to the State of Alabama code, a person commits the crime of sodomy in the first degree if he, being 16 years or older, engages in deviant sexual intercourse with a person who is less than 12 years old. A person commits the crime of sodomy in the second degree if he, being 16 years or older, engages in deviant sexual intercourse with another person who is less than 16 and more than 12 years old.
The arrest was the result of a joint investigation by the Hartselle Police Department, Morgan County district attorney’s office, the FBI and members of their North Alabama Violent Crimes Task Force.
Pitts was transported to the Morgan County Jail on a $500,000 bond.
Special bond conditions noted on the indictment filed Nov. 3 include Pitts’ enrollment in a community corrections pretrial release program that requires him to be fitted for and wear an ankle monitor and be released only when it is placed.
Pitts is to have no direct or indirect contact with any alleged victims.
He is also required to surrender his passport and is not permitted to leave Alabama without court approval. Anyone with further information regarding this matter is asked contact Lt. Alan McDearmond with the Hartselle Police Department at 256-751-4917 or the Morgan County district attorney’s office at 256-351-4610.
