A second guilty plea closed a December 2017 kidnapping case in the Greenbrier County Circuit Court on Thursday, March 14. Charles Krafft plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit a felony (abduction) before Judge Robert E. Richardson.
The case began when Preston Modlin, principal of Eastern Greenbrier Middle School, contacted local police on December 18, 2017. A student was absent from school, and several other students told Modlin they had received messages stating that the missing student was with Christopher Rider.
Greenbrier County Sheriff’s Department subsequently opened an investigation, led by Sergeant G.R. Workman, finding that Rider, then 27, had been spotted at the Super 8 Motel in Lewisburg with a teenager and another man, later identified as Charles Krafft, then 21. An Amber Alert was issued, and Workman applied for a 911 exigent circumstances emergency request to track Krafft’s and Rider’s cell phones.
On December 21, police received an anonymous tip that Rider and Krafft were in a camper in Neola. Workman, joined by Corporal Smith and Deputy U.S. Marshal K. Long, located the two men and the victim in a nearby residence. The men were read their Miranda Rights and taken into custody.
In October 2018, Rider and Krafft were initially indicted for abduction of “a female child under the age of 16.”
Krafft’s plea deal, however, would see him convicted of the lesser offense of conspiracy to commit a felony. After the plea, Greenbrier County Assistant Prosecutor Britt Ludwig moved for the abduction charge against Krafft to be dropped.
According to Ludwig, if Krafft’s case had gone to trial, the prosecution expected to prove Krafft continued to assist Rider after learning an Amber Alert had been issued for the victim. In addition, the prosecution also stated law enforcement and the victim’s family support the plea. According to Dewitt Daniell, Krafft’s defense attorney, there was no benefit in going to trial to fight the initial abduction charge.
During the plea hearing, Krafft explained that Rider contacted him in order to have Krafft help him “get to the motel with his girlfriend” and that Krafft initially did not know her age. Krafft stated he eventually contacted authorities, but did so some time after beginning to help Rider. He noted that he learned her age once the Amber Alert was issued.
“It took a little bit [of time] to contact Marshal [Long],” Krafft said, also agreeing he continued to cooperate with Rider before contacting the authorities and after learning the victim’s age.
In January, Rider plead guilty to the one count of felony abduction that occurred in December 2017, and received a sentence of two to 10 years of active incarceration. In addition, Rider has two years following his release to pay the cost of court proceedings. Because Rider had previously been convicted of sexual assault in the third degree and served his time, he was sentenced as a recidivist offender, doubling the minimum sentence.
Richardson found Krafft guilty of conspiracy to commit a felony based on the plea and agreed to the prosecution’s motion to dismiss the abduction charge. Krafft was released on a modified bond until his case proceeds to sentencing in early May. He currently faces between one to five years in the state penitentiary and a potential fine. Richardson also advised Krafft to cooperate with the presentencing department if he “has any hope at all” to be considered for alternate sentencing, such as home confinement.
Read more in the Tuesday, March 19, edition of The West Virginia Daily News.
