Marty Decole "Cole" Wagner, an Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) employee who formerly chaired a pro-life group, was indicted by a grand jury on June 30th and arrested last week on sexual abuse of a child under age 12. A source told Alabama Political Reporter that the alleged victim is under 10.
Wager's arrest came after he allegedly subjected a child under 12 to "sexual contact."
"The allegations against Mr. Wagner are serious, tragic, and shocking," the Alabama State Department of Education said. "While he was employed by our department for only a few months, Mr. Wagner has been terminated effective immediately. No further information is available at this time as the investigation is ongoing."
Via the Alabama Political Reporter:
As chair of the committee, Wagner worked with a variety of Republican lawmakers and right-wing organizations to raise money and garner sponsorship.
"The Alliance for a Pro-Life Alabama is tasked with educating voters about the constitutional amendment and providing them with accurate and truthful information while, at the same time, refuting falsehoods and misinformation that may be disseminated by pro-abortion forces within the state," Wagner said at the time.
Wagner was released on $60,000 bond. Sexual abuse of a child under 12 is a Class B felony in Alabama, and carries a potential prison sentence of 2 to 20 years.
This comes at a time when the reaction to Roe being overturned by Republicans has been swift -- to deny women's right to abortion, sometimes with no exceptions for rape or incest. And Wagner, an alleged child rapist, wanted to take that choice away from women.
