An Athens man — convicted in 2004 of sodomizing an 8-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy in Cullman County — stands accused of violating the state sex offender law by staying in a residence in Decatur with a child present, an official said today.

Decatur Police Sgt. Justin Lyon arrested Joseph “Joey” Scott Bennefield, 29, of 23056 Nick Davis Road, about 9:45 p.m. Sunday at 715 Cedar Lake Road S.W. after patrol officers made contact with Bennefield.

“During the course of the investigation, it was determined Bennefield had stayed overnight, on more than one occasion, at an apartment with a female companion and her 14-month-old son,” Lyon said. “Due to circumstances surrounding Bennefield’s status as a sex offender, and then only under very specific instances, he is forbidden to have overnight stays in which minors are present.”

Bennefield was first arrested on sodomy charges Sept. 18, 2003, and convicted on the charges May 27, 2004. He registered as a convicted sex offender May 5, 2014 and last verified his address with county officials June 29, 2015.