Shelby County, just south of Birmingham, long has been known as the most conservative county in Alabama. Pretty much all public officials there are white and Republican; Democrats generally don't bother to run for office.
The county touts itself as a "great place to raise a family," a place where "family values" and GOP politics are exalted.
So it was interesting to learn last week that Shelby County has produced perhaps the worst case of child sexual abuse in modern Alabama history. It was even more interesting to learn that the alleged perpetrator has strong ties to the county's GOP power structure--and that apparently helped him get away with unspeakable acts for roughly two decades.
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