Alabama Sunday School Teacher Convicted of Raping Child in 1972 Facing New Sex Abuse Charge

An Alabama man who unsuccessfully sought a pardon in 2020 for a decades-old rape conviction is facing disturbing new allegations, PEOPLE learned.

Leon Albert Prince, a 77-year-old former Sunday school teacher who was convicted of raping a 7-year-old girl in 1972, was indicted last month on one count of sex abuse of a child under the age of 12, a spokeswoman for the Elmore County District Attorney's Office confirmed.

Grand jurors returned an indictment against Prince on Jan. 7. The new charge follows an incident that occurred sometime in 2010 or 2011.

It wasn't until recently that the victim came forward about the abuse, officials claim.

Prince was arrested Jan. 24 and released the same day on $40,000 bond.

According to AL.com, Prince is currently hospitalized with COVID-19.

Prince had served 15 years of his 30-year sentence for the sexual abuse of Allison Black Cornelius, who today serves as the executive director of the Greater Birmingham Humane Society.

It wasn't until 1990 that Cornelius approached police about the abuse. AL.com reports Prince, who was released from prison in 2006, had threatened to kill Cornelius' dog if she told anyone.

During Prince's trial, dozens of his alleged victims — both boys and girls — came forward, breaking their silence about the abuse they'd endured at his hands.

The abuse occurred while Prince was a Sunday school teacher at Tarrant First Baptist Church in Birmingham.

Cornelius opposed Prince's 2020 bid for a pardon, and used Facebook to bring attention to the matter, AL.com reports.

"I wanted to say to you personally, I am so tired of having to monitor and babysit you," she said in a Facebook video intended for the registered sex offender. "I have heard from 52 of your victims since you were convicted in 1991. I don't understand, why did you think it was a good idea to ask the state of Alabama for a pardon before you asked me, or my mom, or dad. You were my youth pastor at Tarrant First Baptist Church when you did that. My dad and my mom trusted you. When you did this, you destroyed our lives."