AceShowbiz - Alabama Shakes star Steven William Johnson has been held behind bars amid allegations of child abuse.

The drummer was taken into custody by police in Athens, Alabama on 24 March (21), when he was booked on a variety of charges, including "willful torture, willful abuse and cruelly beating or otherwise willfully maltreating a child under the age of 18," according to the Associated Press.

His bail has been set at $21,500 (£15,500) while an arraignment hearing is due to take place on 7 April.

Representatives for Grammy-winning country rockers Alabama Shakes, who have been on hiatus since 2018, have yet to comment on the news.

Johnson is no stranger to authorities, having been handed a suspended one-year jail sentence in March, 2020 for violating a domestic violence restraining order filed against him by his ex-wife.

As part of his sentence, he was ordered to serve 24 months on probation.

The couple divorced in 2018 after more than three years of marriage. "He's mad because (we're) divorced and he's mentally unstable," his former wife wrote in her request for a protection order.

The drummer was accused of threatening and harassing her. He also allegedly broke into her house, choked, and injured her.

Founded in 2009, Alabama Shakes released two albums so far, 2012's "Boys & Girls" and 2015's "Sound & Color". They collected nine Grammy nominations and won four Golden Gramophones.

The band took a break in 2018 as lead vocalist Brittany Howard launched a solo career. Her debut album "Jaime" came out in 2019.