Alabama man arrested in Bay County on sexual abuse charges

BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - An Alabama man is awaiting extradition after deputies say he was arrested in Bay County on a warrant.

In Dec. 2022, a victim reported a span of past sexual abuse to the Helena Police Department. Detectives say they began an investigation on suspect Richard Bailey Granger and found he had since moved from the state.

Investigators say at some point, Granger was a staff member at Helena Middle School, but the allegations were not related to his time there.

The case was reportedly presented to a Shelby County Grand Jury in Aug. 2023, which returned indictments for Granger on two counts of sodomy and seven counts of sexual abuse.

Granger was located and arrested by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 2 on a fugitive from justice warrant.

“He’s being charged with being a fugitive from justice, which means he had a warrant in that area, and then fled the area, came here, where we found him and picked him up,” said Deputy Jake Navarro of the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.

Law enforcement says he is currently being held by deputies until he is picked up by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.

Bay District Schools confirmed to News Channel 7 that Granger worked for them during the 2022-23 school year, and resigned at the end of the school year.