• 46°
Hartselle Enquirer

Somerville man faces sexual torture, abuse charges

By Michael Wetzel

For the Enquirer

A 76-year-old Somerville man is facing four counts of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12 and one count of sexual torture involving female relatives, according to authorities and court records.

Hugh Wallace Greene Sr., 821 Cut-Off Road, remained free on $500,000 bail Monday after being arrested Thursday by Somerville police.

An affidavit filed by Somerville officer Bill LaPradd alleged Greene sexually abused a child younger than 12 between Jan. 1, 2013, and Dec. 31, 2015, at or near the Cut-Off Road residence.

Feb. 22 a parent reported his two daughters made disclosures to a therapist about sexual abuse, according to the affidavit.

The therapist contacted the Morgan County Department of Human Resources about the alleged incidents, and DHR scheduled a forensic interview at the Morgan County Child Advocacy Center in Decatur March 15, the affidavit said.

During the interview, an alleged victim said she was touched on her genital area and chest area by Greene during weekend visits to his residence, according to the affidavit signed April 1 before Circuit Judge Jennifer Howell.

Somerville Police Chief Keith Hornbuckle said there are two alleged young female victims. “The investigation is ongoing, and there may be more charges coming. We might let the grand jury decide those,” he said.

The FBI’s North Alabama Violent Crime Task Force and Morgan County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the investigation.

Hornbuckle said Greene had a number of firearms at his residence.

“During the investigation there were allegations of Greene having multiple weapons in his residence, and due to the severity of the alleged crime, I made the determination to have the task force assist us with surveillance and with Greene’s arrest,” Hornbuckle said.

Sexual torture is a Class A felony punishable by up to life in prison. Sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12 is a Class B felony, punishable up to 20 years in prison.

According to jail records, Greene was released from the county jail at 9:02 p.m. Thursday, several hours after being processed into the jail. He used Three Sisters Bonding of Decatur as the bonding company for the $500,000 bail.

Howell said Greene is to have no contact with the victims and must stay at least 500 feet from them. All firearms are to be removed from the residence. He must notify the circuit clerk if he changes his address while out on bond.

Court records did not list an attorney for Greene.

Morgan County

20 under 40: Trey Chowning

Falkville

20 under 40: TJ Holmes

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Spencer Bell

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Shelby Keenum

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Rachel Howard

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Mary Virgina Halbrooks

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Maggie McKelvey

Decatur

20 under 40: Maegan Jones

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Lindsey Tapscott

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

‘He lets us have sex’: More details emerge on Hartselle man accused of child exploitation 

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

Hartselle church creates Easter-themed escape rooms 

Danville

Family tradition: State livestock show legacy spans generations

Editor's picks

Baseball for Beau: More than $8k raised for scholarship named after Hartselle child  

Falkville

20 under 40: Lela Weeks

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Kalleigh Thomas

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Jaime Hatcher

Hartselle

Veteran Hartselle firefighter charged with possessing child porn

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

Cerrowire expansion named finalist in Business Alabama Awards  

At a Glance

Work begins on repairing two bridges over I-65 in Morgan County in coming weeks

At a Glance

Tickets for Morgan County Sports Hall of Fame banquet available

Falkville

Morgan County volunteers celebrated at annual fire department banquet 

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

Man jailed for stealing car from jail after earlier release 

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

Police: Hartselle man encouraged children to have sex inside his apartment

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Chris Rigoni

x