Former Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin has filed a defamation lawsuit against news outlet AL.COM, and two law enforcement officers and the respective towns for a 2018 story he claims included false allegations that he had sex with underage girls some 30 years ago.

The suit, filed on Wednesday in Etowah County Circuit Court, names as defendants reporter Connor Sheets, Advance Local Media LLC (which is the parent company of AL.COM) current Sheriff Jonathon Horton, Oneonta Police Chief Charles Clifton, and the cities of Oneonta and Rainbow City.

At the center of that controversy is a story titled “Police investigating allegations Alabama’s ‘Beach House Sheriff’ had sex with underage girls” – which was published July 16th of 2018.

That lawsuit claims “reckless and malicious” publication of false and damaging allegations made by Mary Elizabeth Cross.

According to Entrekin’s lawsuit “The Article, written by Defendant Sheets and published by Defendant ALM falsely accused Mr. Entrekin of some of the worst kinds of human behavior – statutory rape, solicitation of a minor, and dealing drugs.”  

Cross is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

The Alabama State Bureau of Investigation conducted an investigation into that matter, and AL.COM later posted a story stating the agency wouldn’t be taking action against Entrekin.

We’ll continue to follow this story as it develops.

(Information provided in part by AL.COM/www.al.com)