Sexual Assault

The following individuals were indicted last week by a Berkeley County grand jury. An indictment merely indicates that an individual is believed to have committed a crime. Robert H. Phipps II, 40, of 673 Mount Olive Road, Martinsburg, on counts of fleeing in a vehicle while DUI from a law enforcement officer and fleeing in a vehicle from a law enforcement officer with bodily injury. Ricardo J. Pleasant, 26, incarcerated at Eastern Regional Jail, on counts of felony possession of a stolen vehicle, possession with intent to deliver oxycodone, misdemeanor aiding in concealing stolen goods, two counts of possession with intent to deliver cocaine and two counts of conspiracy.

A Martinsburg man faces a maximum of 35 to 75 years in prison after he was found guilty of sexually abusing two boys and assaulting one of them when the siblings were 3 and 4 years old. A jury deliberated for about two hours in Berkeley County Circuit Court on Wednesday afternoon before it found Christopher Michael Jensen, 21, guilty of one count of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of sexual abuse, according to Berkeley County Assistant Prosecuting...

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A 40-year-old Martinsburg man is accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in a parking lot near the Veterans Affairs Medical Center hospital in Berkeley County, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court records. Robert Edward Fleming of 540 S. Church St., Apt. 2, was in Eastern Regional Jail on Monday on a $50,000 cash bond set by Magistrate Sandra L. Miller, court records show. Fleming was charged with second-degree sexual assault and first-degree sexual abuse by West Virginia State Police and Martinsburg Police Department officers.

The trial for a 56-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting a pastor's son is set to begin today in Berkeley County Circuit Court. Ronald Dewayne Smith, who was previously convicted in 1995 of sexually abusing a Jefferson County boy in the mid-1970s, now faces allegations that he assaulted a preteen boy in 2002. Smith was indicted in May 2011 on two counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual assault third degree in the most recent case. The latest sexual allegations surfaced in December 2010, after the victim and his family moved out of the Martinsburg area, according to court records.

A 26-year-old man is accused of sexually assaulting a woman after a birthday party over the weekend, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court records. Darryl Fountaine Clinksdale II, no fixed address, was arraigned Tuesday on one count of second-degree sexual assault by Magistrate JoAnn Overington, according to court documents. Clinksdale was allowed early Sunday into the residence where the victim was staying upon returning from the party, but another woman who lived there told police he wasn't supposed to stay, according to court documents.

Local police confirmed Wednesday that they are investigating allegations of a school-day sexual assault that occurred in February at Waynesboro Area Senior High School. A Waynesboro woman concerned about hall monitoring and policies for how students' misbehavior is reported addressed the Waynesboro Area School Board this week, saying her daughter was involved in the alleged assault. She questioned why students are able to wander the halls during advisory periods, why the halls are not better monitored, and why surveillance cameras' footage is not regularly reviewed.

A woman who told police she was sexually assaulted by a Berkeley County man claimed she was thrown down a flight of stairs by her hair and pushed outside his home after being attacked, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court records. Michael Terry Dotson, 36, of 122 Ritter Drive, Martinsburg, was arraigned Thursday on two counts of second-degree sexual assault by Magistrate Sandra L. Miller, according to court documents. The woman told police the assault happened on Aug. 8 after they smoked crack cocaine, according to court documents.

A Falling Waters, W.Va., man accused of sexually assaulting a woman in August 2012 and then holding a knife to another woman's neck in a confrontation with police that ended in gunfire was indicted Tuesday on multiple charges by a Berkeley County grand jury. Raymond Sidney Wallace II, 23, was indicted on four sexual assault-related offenses, and single counts of kidnapping, attempted arson and assault on a government representative, according to indictment documents released by Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney Pamela Games-Neely's office.

A Hagerstown man is accused of sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl and physically abusing two boys ages 8 and 11, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court documents. James Eugene Anderson III, 19, of 310 Jonathan St., was arraigned Friday by Magistrate Robert L. Lowe II on one felony count of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of battery, according to court documents. Anderson was being held Friday at Eastern Regional Jail on $250,000 bond, according to court and jail records.

A Fulton County, Pa., man has been charged with sexually abusing a girl multiple times over the course of the last 2 1/2 years, according to Pennsylvania State Police. Warren David Kerlin III, 50, of Burnt Cabins, Pa., is charged with rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault, indecent assault and other related offenses, according to a state police news release. Troopers allege Kerlin sexually assaulted the girl over the course of the last 2 1/2 years in Dublin Township.

A man accused of sexually assaulting a girl in 2009 told authorities he was assaulted by another male inmate at Eastern Regional Jail early Tuesday, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court records. The accused inmate, Aaron J. Stanback, 26, of Ronceverte, W.Va., was arraigned Tuesday on one count of first-degree sexual assault by Magistrate Charles C. Cole Sr., according to court documents. Police said Stanback indicated the encounter with John Paul Knipple Jr. was consensual and that he didn't mean to hurt him, according to court documents.

A Falling Waters, W.Va., man pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he sexually assaulted a woman in August 2012 and then kidnapped another woman in a violent string of events that ended when he was shot by police. Raymond Sidney Wallace II, 23, was arraigned by 23rd Judicial Circuit Judge Christopher C. Wilkes on four sexual assault-related offenses, and single counts of kidnapping, attempted arson and assault on a government representative. Wilkes set bonds totaling $900,000 for the pending felony charges, which are contained in a grand jury indictment that was decided last week in Berkeley County Circuit Court.

Man charged with punching women, children McCONNELLSBURG, Pa. - A McConnellsburg man has been charged with punching a woman and two children Friday at the intersection of Pa. 30 and Lincoln Way West in Fulton County, Pennsylvania State Police said. Justin Allen Garlock, 23, was charged with one count each of harassment and simple assault, according to a state police news release. Troopers allege Garlock punched a 30-year-old woman and two 13-year-old boys at 9:40 p.m. Friday.

A man convicted in December of sexually assaulting his estranged wife at knifepoint was ordered by a judge to serve not less than 15 nor more than 35 years in prison Thursday. Ruben Castillo, 37, of Martinsburg, also was sentenced Thursday by 23rd Judicial Circuit Judge John C. Yoder to 12-month and one-year sentences and fined a total of $750 for two related misdemeanor convictions, but was credited for time already served since the Jan. 30, 2012, incident. Castillo was found guilty of one felony count of first-degree sexual assault and misdemeanor counts of domestic battery and violation of a protective order at the culmination of a three-day jury trial on Dec. 13, according to court documents and Berkeley County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Gregory K. Jones.  Upon being released from prison, Castillo will be placed on supervised release for 15 years, Yoder ordered.

The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on Tuesday heard testimony from supporters of a bill that is intended to broaden the scope of a protective order so that domestic violence victims can be better protected. But a representative of the state's Office of the Public Defender who testified against the bill said the document's language was too vague and too broad. Sen. Christopher B. Shank, R-Washington, who filed SB 490 said his effort was a response to some incidents in Washington County, including the shooting death of Heather Harris, a Hagerstown resident in June 2011.

A Falling Waters, W.Va., man accused of sexually assaulting a woman in August 2012 and then holding a knife to another woman's neck in a confrontation with police that ended in gunfire was indicted Tuesday on multiple charges by a Berkeley County grand jury. Raymond Sidney Wallace II, 23, was indicted on four sexual assault-related offenses, and single counts of kidnapping, attempted arson and assault on a government representative, according to indictment documents released by Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney Pamela Games-Neely's office.

A Martinsburg man faces a maximum of 35 to 75 years in prison after he was found guilty of sexually abusing two boys and assaulting one of them when the siblings were 3 and 4 years old. A jury deliberated for about two hours in Berkeley County Circuit Court on Wednesday afternoon before it found Christopher Michael Jensen, 21, guilty of one count of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of sexual abuse, according to Berkeley County Assistant Prosecuting...

A  49-year-old man was sentenced Monday in Berkeley County Circuit Court to between 41 and 105 years in prison for sexually abusing and assaulting a teenage girl between 2009 and 2010. Melvin George Simms, who was ordered Monday by 23rd Judicial Circuit Judge Gray Silver III to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life, was convicted of seven felony counts of sexual abuse and sexual assault at the culmination of a six-day jury trial in October. Silver also ordered Simms to be placed on 30 years of supervised release following incarceration.