A Boaz man has pleaded guilty to hundreds of child pornography charges, crimes discovered when he fell behind on storage unit payments and a life-sized child sex doll was found as the unit was being emptied.

Dennis Ray Spann, 55, pleaded guilty to 225 counts of possession of child pornography and five counts of producing pornography, Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey said.

Spann was sentenced to 10 years on the child porn possession convictions and 20 years each on the five child porn production charges.

Spann pleaded guilty in 2022 in Marshall County to three counts of first-degree sex abuse and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with two years to serve.

He was arrested last year on the new charges in Blount County, and his probation was revoked, according to court records.

Casey said Spann was renting a storage unit in Blount County when he failed to make payments.

The owners of the storage facility started to empty the unit when they discovered what appeared to be images of naked female children and a sex doll that was child-sized with childlike features.

The owners contacted the Oneonta Police Department to begin the investigation. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force worked together on the investigation.

According to court documents, Spann admitted to possessing and producing the images and videos.

Casey praised the storage unit owners for coming forward.

“It takes everyone, including our citizens, to fight back against child abuse,” Casey said. “The owner of these units no doubt saved other children from becoming victims of Dennis Spann.”

“Child pornography is not and never will be a victimless crime,” she said. “Every one of those images represents a child that was horrifically victimized and is victimized every time the images are shared.”

“Never forget, if you see something. Say something,” Casey said. “Every day I fight alongside law enforcement to protect our children and to make Alabama safe.”