By By Lydia Grimes – features reporter
Four Escambia County residents have been indicted on three separate child abuse cases.
A county grand jury indicted Timothy Odom, 42, of East Brewton. Odom was arrested on Nov. 14, 2008, and charged with rape, first degree, involving a 13-year-old child.
According to Sgt. Adam Johnson, the rape was reported by the child to her mother, who called the Department of Human Resources and the Escambia County Sheriff's office. The case is now under the investigation of Johnson, who is in the investigation division of the sheriff's department and assigned with the Escambia County Regional Child Advocacy Center. Bond was set for $250,000, and Odom is currently incarcerated in the Escambia County Detention Center.
Buddy Jackson, 31, and Rhonda Jackson, 36, of Flomaton, were also arrested on Nov. 14, under the indictment of the grand jury. They were both charged with torture or willful abuse of a child who is 16 years old. Their charges were filed at the Flomaton Police Department but, because of a possible conflict of interest, the case was turned over to the county sheriff's office, authorities said. Bond was set for $50,000 for each and both were being held in the county detention center as of last week.
Corey Beasley, 71, of Ridge Road, Brewton, was arrested and charged with sexual abuse of a child. According to the Escambia County Sheriff's Department, Beasley was released on $100,000 bond, under the condition he cannot be around children.
All of these cases are still under investigation.
The Child Advocacy Center interviews children in a child-friendly setting with the goal of obtaining detailed information. The primary goal is to promote the protection of children and to hold offenders accountable for the abuse and neglect.
Stephanie Jackson, who directs the Child Advocacy Center, said parents and caregivers can look for certain signs in behavior if they suspect a child is being abused.
A sudden change in a child's behavior or a child's statement that denotes sadness may be a sign of a real problem. The absence of behavioral problems does not mean there is no possibility that the child has not been abused.
Some of the following behaviors to watch for are just indicators and not proven to lead to the child being abused.