Andy Was a Groomer!

 

Donald Andrew Devaney was, until earlier this week, a lieutenant in the Russellville Fire Department. Now he's facing six charges related to trafficking an underage girl that could bring him a life sentence in the State prison system. For a man with no criminal record, that's quite a leap. How did Andy go unnoticed for so long?

Credit reports don't indicate that Andy has a family, but he does have five Russellville addresses linked to him, as well as six email addresses. Two of the email addresses use a name other than his. These are possibly two aliases Devaney used while attempting to contact victims.

Since 2023, the 52 year-old RFD lieutenant had been in charge of the annual Russellville firefighters Christmas toy drive, an endeavor that saw young teenagers assisting the predator. Devaney is pictured above with teenage girls at Walmart purchasing items with donations from the public.

Russellville High School is one of the few in the Northwest Alabama area to offer courses in Fire Science, and Devaney was reportedly deeply involved in teaching the curriculum at his alma mater. There he met Russellville youth who were happy to assist him in his toy drives and similar projects, totally unsuspecting his darker side.

Parents, it's sad, but just because someone is a "pillar of the community" or connected to your child's school, it doesn't always mean that he or she is a person with good intentions. Ask who else is going along on those school-related trips. Ask who else will be at after class meetings and outings. If you don't get satisfactory answers, you're entitled to say no.

Just because someone holds a responsible place in your community, it doesn't mean he or she isn't a child predator!