The Greenbrier County Circuit Court saw a guilty plea to sexual assault entered on Monday, April 25.
Collin Parker of Lewisburg was initially indicted on two counts of sexual assault in the third degree but plead guilty to just one of the counts on Monday, April 25. The state, after the plea was entered, moved to dismiss the second count.
Greenbrier County Circuit Court Judge Robert Richardson asked Parker to confirm Greenbrier County Prosecuting Attorney Patrick Via’s presentation of the evidence.
“How old were you when it happened?” Richardson asked.
“I was 21,” Parker said.
“How old was [the victim]?” Richardson asked.
“She was 15,” Parker said.
“Were you married to [the victim]?” Richardson asked.
“No sir,” Parker responded.
“I ask that question because that is a defense to the charge [under current West Virginia State Code],” Richardson noted. “Are you pleading guilty because you are, in fact, guilty of sexual assault in the third degree?”
“Yes sir,” Parker said.
Defense attorney Eric Francis confirmed there was no “meritorious defense” that could be brought at trial and that it was “very much” in Parker’s interest to take the plea deal.
No sentence was set by the plea deal. Sexual assault in the third degree carries a potential penalty of incarceration in the state penitentiary for one to five years, fined $10,000, or both, as well as a period of sex offender supervised release for 10 to 50 years after his release.
The deal does come with a provision requiring Parker “fully cooperate” with the state in a case against Todd Clay Young II, including “assistance in evidence collection, pre-trial statements and/or interviews and trial testimony. In every respect, the defendant shall be required to be responsive, truthful, and complete in the furtherance of his cooperation.”
Todd Clay Young II of Daniels, then 20, was indicted in October 2020 on sexual assault in the third degree and sexual assault in the second degree. Both indictments stem from alleged incidents concerning “a female child” less than “16 years of age” and a person being “incapable of consent due to being physically helpless,” between May 14, 2020, and May 15, 2020. In January, a jury trial against Young was delayed due to spiking COVID-19 cases (see “Sexual Assault Trial Delayed Amid COVID-19 Spike” at wvdn.com/25496/).
Until sentencing, Parker was allowed to remain on the $1,000 bond posted by Lightner’s Bonding.
