A south Alabama man accused of sex acts with a young girl is in custody after a massive search that spanned several counties.
Colt Bryan Lecuyer, 30, is charged with first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy.
The investigation began Friday when Ozark-Dale County E911 received a call from a Level Plains resident who described witnessing sexual contact between Lecuyer and a girl who is under the age of 10. The alleged sexual acts were taking place in the back Lecuyer’s vehicle.
Lecuyer, a registered sex offender and federal supervised release inmate, fled the scene before law enforcement officers arrived.
Authorities said the suspect knew the young victim.
Dale County Sheriff Mason Bynum said investigators began gathering information on the scene and a lookout bulleting was issued for Lecuyer.
Shortly after 10 p.m. Friday, an Auburn police officer spotted the suspect’s vehicle abandoned in the parking lot of the Walmart on South College Street in Auburn. Dale County investigators traveled to Auburn. With assistance from Auburn police and Lee County sheriff’s deputies, they processed Lecuyer’s vehicle.
Law enforcement officers searched for the suspect, but he was not found.
On Sunday, Bynum said, investigators learned that Lecuyer was on foot near the Lee and Macon County line in the Tuskegee National Forest.
The Macon County Sheriff’s Office, along with ALEA’s Aviation Unit, SBI Agents and tracking dogs from the Alabama Department of Corrections Kilby and Ventress correctional facilities, responded to the area.
The tracking dogs were able to track the suspect for more than four miles before taking him into custody in a wooded area off County Road 57 in Macon County.
Dale County deputies are traveling to Macon County to take custody of Lecuyer.
“I would like to thank Sheriff Andre Brunson and the members of the Macon County Sheriff’s Office, DOC K9 Teams and ALEA for their relentless effort in capturing Lecuyer,’’ Bynum said. “Also, the Auburn Police Department and Lee County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance during this investigation.”
“Individuals like Lecuyer, who wish to prey on young children have no place in our society,’’ the sheriff said. “He is a convicted sex offender so this wasn’t his first time victimizing a young child but I pray that it’s his last.”
“I applaud the efforts of those in law enforcement who made it their mission this weekend to put him back behind bars where he belongs,” Bynum said.
