Former North Alabama Minister Faces Sex Charges

FLORENCE, Ala. (AP) – A former Methodist church worker is facing sex abuse charges in northwest Alabama.

The TimesDaily  reports that 79-year-old Oliver Brazelle of Sheffield is charged with sexual abuse and sodomy.

Officials say Brazelle is a former music and youth minister at First United Methodist Church of Sheffield.

The paper reports Brazelle was arrested Monday.

An investigation over allegations dating from the 1970s resulted in Brazelle being restricted from working with youth choirs by the church’s bishop in 2003.

Now, authorities say Brazelle is accused of sexually abusing a teenage boy who was a member of his church youth group in the mid-1990s.

The man was terminated as music minister in 2012.

Records don’t show whether Brazelle has a defense attorney. He is free on $45,000 bond.