Farris Pleads Guilty to Rape of Minor

0:00It's April 1st. Welcome in. This is Birmingham News Today, where local news meets AI. Thomas Raben-Farris, the guy who made headlines with that hotel standoff in Hoover. Just pleaded guilty to second-degree rape of a minor in a way. Separate case. Court Docs show he signed the plea deal on March 23rd, 2026, and sentencing set for June 18th of that year. This all ties back to an incident back in 2020, when Ferris was working security at a church. Investigators say it happened in an outdoor playhouse on the property. The victim gave birth to a child in February 2021, and DNA tests nailed Ferris as the biological father, according to the court records. The plea wraps up the case before it could head to trial, sparing everyone a full courtroom battle. We'll keep an eye on that June hearing for the final word on his sentence, but for now, this chapter's closing out.