A 30-year-old Tuscaloosa man faces multiple charges in connection with an investigation by the West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force.
Jalan Christopher Lewis was arrested Monday by members of the West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force, said Stephanie Taylor, a spokeswoman for the Tuscaloosa Police Department.
Lewis has been charged with two counts of second-degree rape, traveling to meet a minor for an unlawful sex act, facilitating the travel of a minor for an unlawful sex act, production of child sexual abuse material and dissemination of child sexual abuse material. He is now being held without bond at the Tuscaloosa County Jail.
Taylor said Lewis was previously arrested in connection with similar cases in 2024.
In August, Lewis was one of eight men arrested during a West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force operation focused on adults using social media platforms to arrange sexual encounters with minors. The men were apprehended after engaging in conversations with an undercover officer posing as a teenage girl.
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Taylor said following that investigation, Lewis was charged with traveling to meet a minor for an unlawful sex act and electronic solicitation of a child. He was indicted by a grand jury in November, with his cases now pending in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court.
During an unrelated recent investigation, task force investigators discovered Lewis had solicited a minor via social media and met with her for sex on multiple occasions while he was out on bond, said Taylor.
“These cases demonstrate why our proactive investigations are so important,” said Capt. Phil Simpson, commander of the West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force Task Force, in a news release. “This case confirms what we’ve long known: Suspects caught in undercover operations are often seeking real victims in our community.”
Reach Jasmine Hollie at JHollie@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Tuscaloosa man jailed after human trafficking task force investigation