A 56-year-old Calera man who served as a temporary teacher’s aide at Creek View Elementary School in Alabaster has been charged with sexual abuse in the first degree following a report by a 6-year-old girl that she was sexually assaulted at the school.

Capt. Curtis Rigney of the Alabaster Police Department said William E. Oldham, 56, of Camden Cove Lane in Calera was arrested March 17 at his home.

He was transported to the Shelby County Jail and was held on a $5,000 bond that he posted the same day.

Rigney said a report was filed with the Alabaster Police Department on Feb. 7 by the parents of a 6-year-old girl who was a student at Creek View Elementary School.

&uot;She had disclosed to her parents she had been sexually assaulted by a man at the school,&uot; Rigney said.

He said an investigation was begun and the school board and county Department of Human Resources were notified.

Rigney said during the course of the investigation, evidence was obtained, and after consulting with Shelby County District Attorney Robby Owens, a warrant was issued for Oldham’s arrest.

Shelby County School Superintendent Evan Major said Oldham went through a background check and a letter from the state revealed nothing that would make him unsuitable for employment.

Major said, however, he understood there was some criminal record in Oldham’s background that &uot;had nothing to do with child abuse.&uot;

Major said Oldham was hired as a &uot;time-card teacher’s aide.&uot;

According to Major, from time to time a school may need an aide before one can be hired full-time.

Major said Oldham was probably at the school for three or four weeks.

He said Oldham was terminated immediately after the complaint.

&uot;We sent him home and told him not to come back,&uot; Major said. &uot;We ended our relationship with him immediately.&uot;

Rigney confirmed that Oldham did have a prior criminal record. He said Oldham spent two years in prison in 1977 for grand larceny and receiving stolen property.

When asked if this knowledge would have prevented Oldham from being hired, Major said, &uot;That’s hard to say, but had we known that it would have been considered.

&uot;We had a clear from the Alabama Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation,&uot; Major said