Tuscaloosa Man Arrested for Possessing Child Pornography Thursday

A Tuscaloosa man was arrested on Thursday and charged with 10 counts of possessing child pornography after an investigation that began with a Cybertip, as many of these cases do.

Captain Phil Simpson, the commander of the West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force, said their agents served a search warrant in the 4600 block of Rice Mine Road and arrested Johnathan Eric Stanford, a 42-year-old who works in local hospitals.

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Stanford was arrested and charged with 10 counts of possession of child sex abuse material.

He was placed in the Tuscaloosa County Jail, where his bond was set at $75,000.

As the Thread reported at the time of his hire in February 2024, Stanford was the laboratory director for the DCH Health System and oversaw lab operations at the hospitals in Tuscaloosa and Northport.

A spokesperson for the hospital system was limited in their ability to comment on the ongoing investigation.

"DCH was shocked at the arrest because nothing in his behavior indicated need for concern," the spokesperson said. "His position in the lab did not include any direct patient contact, and he has been relieved of all duties without any interruption to lab operations or patient care."

For more coverage of crime and courts news in West Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.