By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

COLUMBIANA – A 54-year-old Anniston woman is facing up to 20 years in prison after Shelby County Sheriff’s Office investigators said she allegedly electronically solicited a Columbiana child in the summer of 2015.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office arrested Victoria Juanice Holloway, who lists an address on Noble Street in Anniston, on Feb. 25 and charged her with felony counts of second-degree sodomy and electronic solicitation of a child and a misdemeanor count of second-degree sexual abuse.

The arrest came as the result of a lengthy SCSO investigation and grand jury review.

SCSO deputy Debbie Sumrall said the Sheriff’s Office began its investigation after the victim’s mother “found evidence of the solicitation” on the victim’s cell phone in early July 2015. The mother reported her findings to the SCSO, which led an SCSO investigator to sit in on interviews with the victim at Owen’s House.

During the Owen’s House interviews, the investigator determined there was probably cause to bring charges against Holloway, Sumrall said.

The investigator then presented the case over to a Shelby County grand jury, which returned a three-count indictment against Holloway on Jan. 21, leading to her Feb. 25 arrest.

According to the indictment, the alleged crimes happened between July 9, 2015, and July 20, 2015, and involved a victim between the ages of 12 and 16.

The indictment claims Holloway “communicated with the victim through text messaging and cell phone calls” for the purpose of meeting to engage in sex acts.

During the same timeframe, the indictments allege Holloway subjected the victim to sexual contact and engaged in “deviate sexual intercourse” with the victim.

Electronic solicitation of a child and second-degree sodomy are Class B felonies, according to Alabama law, and are punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

As of Feb. 29, Holloway was being held in the Shelby County Jail on bonds totaling $65,000.