By MOLLY DAVIDSON / Staff Writer

COLUMBIANA—A 60-year-old New Jersey man is asking to have a child sex abuse charge against him dismissed, claiming an unreasonable delay in the case.

David Wayne Auterson, who lists an address on Woodrush Court in Delran, N.J., in court documents, was arrested by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office on May 27 for the alleged sexual abuse of a 5-year-old Shelby County victim.

A complaint against Auterson was filed with the Hoover Police Department following an alleged July 2012 incident, and the case was investigated by the Hoover Family Services Unit.

A grand jury indicted Auterson on the felony charge of sexual abuse of a child younger than 12 in October 2014.

“Detectives have worked countless hours on this case over an almost three-year period,” Hoover Police Capt. Gregg Rector wrote in an email following Auterson’s arrest. “This was a sensitive, time-consuming and complicated case and it involved a very young, innocent victim.”

The motion to dismiss, filed in Shelby County Circuit Court by Auterson’s attorneys on Aug. 27, cites the length of time between the alleged incident, the indictment and Auterson’s arrest.

“This matter was not indicted by a grand jury until October 2014, more than two years after the fact,” the motion read. “The defendant was not arrested until May 2015 and now more than three years have passed since the alleged incident.”

In the motion to dismiss, defense attorneys argued the lengthy process violated Auterson’s Constitutional right to a speedy trial. The defense also argued the amount of time poses problems for the victim’s memory of the alleged event.

The motion also states when Auterson became aware of the allegations against him, he confronted the child’s parents and submitted to and passed a polygraph test from an “examiner of the parents’ choosing.”

Auterson is scheduled to appear in court for a status call on Feb. 1, 2016, at 8:30 a.m.

Sexual abuse of a child less than 12 is a Class B felony. If found guilty, Auterson could face up to 20 years in prison.