Former Alabama lawmaker indicted on sex abuse charge

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A former Alabama lawmaker accused of sexually abusing a woman at a restaurant earlier this year was indicted on a felony charge, court records show.

Perry Hooper Jr., 68, of Montgomery, allegedly grabbed a woman’s breasts and waist, kissed her on the neck and shoved his pelvis into her backside, an affidavit showed. The woman was behind the host stand at a restaurant and Hooper was leaving, the document said.

A Montgomery County grand jury indicted Hooper on a charge of first-degree sexual abuse on Friday, records shows. He remains free on bond.

An attorney for Hooper, who was initially arrested in August after the incident, did not immediately return an email seeking comment Tuesday.

Hooper served in the Alabama House from 1983 to 2003 and his father, Perry Hooper, Sr., was the former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court.