By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – A 27-year-old Alabaster man is facing up to 20 years in prison after he was arrested and charged with allegedly sexually abusing a 4-year-old child.

The Alabaster Police Department arrested Brandon Matthew Bryson, who lists an address on 14^th Street Southwest in Alabaster, on May 16 and charged him with one felony count of sexual abuse of a child younger than 12.

The charge is a Class B felony, according to Alabama law, and is punishable by up to 20 years in prison upon conviction.

According to his arrest warrant, Bryson allegedly did “subject a person who is less than 12 years old to sexual contact” on April 7. The victim was 4 years old, according to the warrant.

According to court documents, Bryson pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge in 2009 and completed a term in the Shelby County Drug Court.

Bryson was released from the Shelby County Jail the same day he was arrested after posting a $15,000 bond.

He is now scheduled to appear in Shelby County District Court for a preliminary hearing on June 22 at 8:30 a.m.