By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

COLUMBIANA – A 41-year-old Alabaster man who has been charged with allegedly sexually abusing a child younger than 12 is set to stand trial in Shelby County Circuit Court in mid-February, according to a recently filed court scheduling order.

Roberto Grimaldo Villalobos, who lists an address on Simmsville Road in Alabaster, will stand trial on one felony count of sexual abuse of a child younger than 12 beginning on Feb. 12, Circuit Court Judge William Bostick ordered on Dec. 18.

Villalobos appeared in court for a pretrial docket call hearing at the Shelby County Courthouse on Jan. 8, and must appear in court for a plea date on Tuesday, Jan. 30.

The Alabaster Police Department arrested Villalobos on Aug. 12, 2013, and charged him with one felony count of sexual abuse of a child younger than 12 after the victim’s mother reported her child had allegedly been molested by the suspect.

At the time of Villalobos’ arrest, Alabaster Police Chief Curtis Rigney said police did not believe there were any other victims in the case.

A Shelby County grand jury indicted Villalobos on the felony charge in June 2014, and his case was declared trial-ready on Nov. 3, 2014, according to court documents.

Villalobos was released from the Shelby County Jail on Feb. 28, 2016, after posting a $30,000 bond. Before posting bond, Villalobos had remained in the county jail since his 2013 arrest.

According to Alabama law, a person “commits the crime of sexual abuse of a child less than 12 years old if he or she, being 16 years old or older, subjects another person who is less than 12 years old to sexual contact.”

Sexual abuse of a child younger than 12 is a Class B felony. If convicted of the crime, Villalobos could face between two and 20 years in prison.