DEKALB COUNTY, Ala- A former part-time DeKalb County Sheriff’s Deputy has been sentenced to more than a decade in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree sodomy.

According to court documents, Joshua Wells entered the guilty plea on Thursday. As part of the plea agreement, 11 additional charges against him were dismissed.

Wells was sentenced to 12 years in state prison and will be required to register as a sex offender. The court also ordered that he have no contact with the victim.

Wells was arrested in July 2024. At the time, DeKalb County Sheriff Nick Welden confirmed that Wells had been employed part-time with the sheriff’s office and was attending the Alabama Law Enforcement Police Academy as he sought full certification as a law enforcement officer.

Sheriff Welden described the case as a “black eye” for both the sheriff’s office and the broader law enforcement community.