BAY MINETTE, Alabama — A Bay Minette man with a history of convictions for sex crimes has been arrested in connection with the sending of pornographic images electronically across state lines to a child under 16.
According to a release issued Wednesday by Bay Minette Police Chief Al Tolbert, investigators received information over the last couple of weeks from a law enforcement agency outside the state of Alabama.
Through the investigation officers discovered a popular social media messenger site was used to transmit the images. Based on evidence collected, the BMPD arrested 69-year-old Douglas Earl Bankester of Bay Minette.
Bankester was booked into the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Correction Center on eight charges of transmitting obscene material to a child. Bankester is currently in jail without bond, pending a hearing at a later date and time, according to the release.
According to the release, Bankester is currently a registered sex offender and has prior convictions for sex crimes. The Corrections Center website lists two bookings for Bankester on unspecified charges, one in 1995 (released the next day on $1,000 bond) and one in 2006 (released the next day on $5,000 bond).
This investigation is ongoing, according to the release.
