Staff Reports news@times-journal.com

A Fort Payne man was found guilty Friday of sexual offenses against two children under 12 years of age, according to Ninth Judicial Circuit District Attorney Summer Summerford.

Joseph Thomas Roden was found guilty by a DeKalb County jury for one count of Sodomy 1st Degree and two counts of Sexual Abuse of a Child Less than 12 Years of Age. A sentencing hearing will be held on May 8, in the court room of Circuit Judge Andrew Hairston. Roden faces a sentence length of 20 years – Life for the Sodomy 1st charge, which is a Class A felony, and 10 – 20 years for the Sexual Abuse of a Child Under 12 counts, which are Class B felonies.

Jury selection began on April 8. After deliberating for approximately 30 minutes, the jury returned guilty verdicts for all charges on Friday afternoon.

During the trial, the State produced evidence that Roden sexually abused the minor victims, both of whom were closely related to Roden, on multiple occasions while the victims were between the ages of 5 and 11. Fort Payne Police Department, the DeKalb County Department of Human Resources, the DeKalb County Children’s Advocacy Center, and the District Attorney’s Office for the Ninth Judicial Circuit all assisted in the investigation.             

“Children should be able to trust the caregivers in their lives to protect them, not abuse them. The victims in this case stood up for themselves and did the incredibly hard task of testifying against someone who should have loved and protected them. They are the true heroes in this case,” stated Summerford.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Stanna Guice and Brady Burns.