Kent Blacklidge, a 43-year-old special agent with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), was charged with child rape, sodomy, and sexual abuse in Alabama on September 5. The charges stem from a January report of child sexual abuse involving an underage girl, for which Blacklidge has been put on administrative leave since the investigation began. According to Alabama attorney general Steve Marshall, it is particularly disturbing that someone responsible for investigating child exploitation cases would be accused of such crimes. The charges are being handled by the state's attorney general office due to conflicts with local prosecutors who work with Blacklidge as a witness in ongoing cases.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-09,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
A 43-year-old federal law enforcement agent, Kent Blacklidge, has been charged with child rape in Alabama. He was a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and had been tasked with investigating cases involving children. Despite his role, Blacklidge is accused of committing the crime himself, allegedly raping an underage girl on January 11th. He turned himself in to the Baldwin County jail on September 5th, after a grand jury indictment was issued charging him with first- and second-degree rape, sodomy, and sexual abuse. As part of his release on bond, Blacklidge will be subject to electronic monitoring, home confinement, and an order not to contact the victim or anyone under the age of 18. The incident has sparked concerns about the credibility of law enforcement officials and the need for greater accountability within the agency.
Written for “Homeland Security Agent Charged” on 2026-09-09,
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Leaning score -0.35 for article 7350 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-09
A federal law enforcement agent tasked with “trying to provide justice in cases involving kids” has been charged with child rape in Alabama, state authorities said on Tuesday.
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authorities → task → Tuesday
Kent Blacklidge, described as a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), turned himself over to the Baldwin county jail on 5 September in connection with a grand jury indictment charging him with first- and second-degree rape, sodomy and sexual abuse, police in the city of Spanish Fort said in a statement.
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police → describe → statement
During a Tuesday news conference, Spanish Fort police chief John Barber said the charges against Blacklidge, 43, stemmed from an 11 January child sexual abuse report involving an underage girl.
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charges → say → girl
The Spanish Fort police statement said Blacklidge had been put on administrative leave by HSI as soon as officers began investigating the complaint against him.
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officers → say → him
Barber said Blacklidge was charged after officers conducted interviews and gathered other unspecified evidence into that complaint, about which the chief declined to release specific details.
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chief → say → details
“It takes an unbelievable amount of courage and strength for a victim of these types of crime to come forward,” Barber said at Tuesday’s news conference.
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Barber → take → conference
“And I commend our victim for having that resolve.”
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I → commend → resolve
Alabama attorney general Steve Marshall said it was particularly disturbing to have to prosecute Blacklidge on child sexual abuse allegations because his responsibilities at HSI included “trying to provide justice in cases involving kids”.
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responsibilities → say → kids
He “was directly involved with child exploitation cases, working with these cases and raising awareness”, Marshall added.
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Marshall → involve → awareness
“That’s why it’s so profoundly disappointing and frankly disgusting that we stand here today and tell you that we charged him” with crimes that are incongruent with “what his professional responsibility was”.
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responsibility → ’ → crimes
Marshall further remarked: “It is also to be reaffirming to the public [that] it is our responsibility to follow the facts and apply the law regardless of what you’ve done, regardless of where you work and regardless of who you are.”
An attendee of Tuesday’s news conference told Marshall at one point that “we had covered” Blacklidge previously at a seminar where he provided training to local public school teachers about how to detect online predators targeting children for sex crimes.
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he → remark → crimes
The Alabama attorney general said his staff is handling the charges against Blacklidge because Blacklidge is a witness in some cases being prosecuted by the local district attorney’s office, requiring the latter agency to recuse itself.
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Blacklidge → say → itself
Barber and Marshall each argued that Blacklidge’s charges should not reflect on the entire law enforcement field.
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charges → argue → field
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees HSI, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the charges against Blacklidge.
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which → oversee → Blacklidge
But the DHS has faced scrutiny over its employee vetting practices after it received an unprecedented $170bn in funding for immigration and border enforcement securities amid the Trump administration’s drive for mass deportations.
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it → face → deportations
The Associated Press reported in February that another agency under DHS’s purview, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), had seen at least two dozen of its employees and contractors be charged with various crimes since 2020.
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dozen → report → 2020
Blacklidge by Tuesday had been released from jail on bond pending the outcome of his case, according to facility records.
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Blacklidge → release → records
Remarks from Marshall on Tuesday suggested his bond amount had been set at more than $350,000.
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amount → suggest → 350,000
As a condition of his release on bond, Blacklidge would have to submit electronic monitoring, home confinement, and an order to neither contact the victim in the case nor anyone else under the age of 18, Marshall said.
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Marshall → have → 18
A message left for Blacklidge at a telephone number associated with him was not immediately returned.
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message → leave → him
