Wichita Falls man indicted on charges of soliciting a 16-year-old boy

Editor's note: This story contains information about alleged child sexual abuse. If you know or suspect that anyone under 18 is being sexually or physically abused, call the Texas child abuse hotline at 1-800-252-5400.

A Wichita Falls man has been indicted on charges of criminal solicitation of a minor with the intent to commit indecency with a child through contact, according to court documents.

Albert Alphonso Edmonds, 60, could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Edmonds was being held Tuesday in the Wichita County Jail in lieu of total bail of $65,000 on the solicitation charge and four unrelated assault charges, according to online jail records.

Anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless convicted in a court of law.

According to affidavits filed in the case, Wichita Falls police were sent to the area of Brook Avenue and Dayton Street on April 15 to check on a possible child abduction.

Officers learned a 16-year-old boy had approached some people attending a nearby family gathering and told them what had happened. Some of the people confronted a suspect in his pickup.

The pickup had left the scene when police arrived, but the bystanders provided officers with a description of the man and a photo of the vehicle. They located and arrested Edmonds later that day.

The boy told a forensic interviewer at Patsy’s House Children's Advocacy Center he was walking home when he was hailed by a man in a green pickup, according to allegations in court records. He said the man grabbed him, kissed him and asked to touch him inappropriately.