Mobile County Constable Albert McCreary Now Charged With Rape as DA Seeks His Removal From Office

Precinct 31 Constable Albert McCreary, 55, has now been charged with first-degree rape, first-degree sexual abuse, first-degree unlawful imprisonment and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday, escalating a case that began with a traffic stop and a firearms charge and had already prompted prosecutors to seek his removal from office.

The state charges followed an ongoing sexual assault investigation that led investigators to obtain a search warrant for McCreary’s vehicle on July 28. Arrest warrants in the case were signed Aug. 3. McCreary remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service on a federal hold. He has not been convicted, and the charges remain allegations at this stage of the case.

“No title, position or elected office places anyone above the law,” Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch said in announcing the charges.

The Mobile County District Attorney’s office filed a quo warranto petition July 30 seeking McCreary’s removal from his elected post as constable for Precinct 31, citing a prior felony conviction and allegations that he no longer lives within the precinct he was elected to serve.

What Is a Quo Warranto Petition?

A quo warranto petition is a legal action used to challenge a person’s right to hold a public office. Rather than addressing guilt or innocence in a criminal matter, it asks a court to determine whether an officeholder is legally qualified to continue serving. If a court finds that a person does not meet the legal requirements for their office — due to a disqualifying criminal history, a residency violation or another statutory defect — it can order that person removed from the position. Prosecutors in Mobile County have asked a judge to grant such an order on an expedited basis.

The Basis for the Removal Petition

According to the District Attorney’s office, the petition rests on two separate grounds. First, prosecutors point to a 2009 felony battery conviction McCreary received in Escambia County, Florida, arguing that Alabama law bars individuals with felony convictions from serving as constables, who hold law enforcement authority within their precincts. Second, the petition challenges McCreary’s residency, alleging that he moved from a home on Saint Stephens Road to an apartment in Daphne after he was elected to represent Precinct 31 in 2024. Alabama law generally requires constables to reside within the precinct they represent.

McCreary has disputed the basis for his removal, saying his Florida conviction had been expunged and that he was legally authorized to carry firearms. Federal officials, however, found no evidence that his firearm rights had been restored after checking with Florida’s Office of Executive Clemency.

How the Firearms Charge Emerged

The rape investigation first became public after a July 28 traffic stop in which Mobile County Sheriff’s Office deputies, searching McCreary’s Chevrolet Tahoe as part of the sexual assault investigation, discovered a Glock Model 23 .40-caliber handgun. Federal prosecutors separately charged McCreary with firearm possession by a prohibited person, citing his 2009 felony conviction. He was not initially charged in the underlying rape investigation.

What Happens Next

McCreary now faces both the newly filed state charges — first-degree rape, first-degree sexual abuse and first-degree unlawful imprisonment — and the pending federal firearms case, in addition to the civil quo warranto proceeding seeking his removal from office. The criminal cases and the removal petition are proceeding on separate tracks through the county and federal court systems. Constables in Alabama are locally elected officials who, depending on the county and precinct, may serve civil process, provide courtroom security or assist local law enforcement; their eligibility requirements, including residency and criminal history restrictions, are set by state law.

The Charges Under Alabama Law

Under Alabama law, first-degree rape is a Class A felony, the most serious category of offense, carrying a potential sentence of 10 years to life in prison. First-degree sexual abuse is a Class C felony, and first-degree unlawful imprisonment is a Class A misdemeanor. The separate federal charge of possessing a firearm after a felony conviction is prosecuted in U.S. District Court under federal sentencing rules.

McCreary is presumed innocent unless and until convicted.

Related coverage from South AL News

• Mobile County Constable Albert McCreary Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun Charge While Facing State Rape, Perjury Cases
• Mobile County Constable Arrested on Rape, Gun Charges as DA Seeks His Removal
• Prichard Code Enforcement Officer, Mobile County Constable Charged With First-Degree Rape, Sexual Assault
• Federal Grand Jury Indicts Prichard Code Enforcement Officer on Gun Charge, Judge Orders Him Held Without Bond