|
Former church youth volunteer indicted on 50 charges as more victims come forward
By Samantha Perry
PRINCETON — A former church youth volunteer and child mentor has been indicted on 50 charges related to alleged sexual abuse of children. An indictment was returned against Timothy Probert, 56, of Mercer County, Tuesday, Mercer County Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ash said. Probert was arrested in December 2013 on 38 counts of child sexual abuse related charges. The 12 new charges stem from another victim coming forward and additional charges being added in other cases, Sgt. M.D. Clemons, with the Crimes Against Children Unit of the West Virginia State Police, said. The charges in the indictment include 27 counts of sexual abuse by a custodian, 17 counts of first-degree sexual abuse, three counts of third-degree sexual assault, one count of second-degree sexual assault, one count of first-degree sexual assault and one count of delivery of a Schedule IV controlled substance. Clemons said the controlled substance charge stems from Probert allegedly providing alcohol and controlled substances to one of the victims. There are now nine victims, Clemons said. Three of the victims he mentored while volunteering with the Working to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect (WE CAN) program and the other six he knew from his church and the community. Probert is a former youth volunteer at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Bluefield. The charges stem from incidents that date back to 1986, with the latest incidents occurring between July 2008 and 2010, Clemons said in an earlier report. All the victims were young teens when the abuse occurred, she said. During a preliminary hearing in February 2014, Clemons provided graphic testimony of the alleged acts, which included “mutual masturbation” between Probert and the victims, as well as oral and anal sex. Clemons testified that the youths would come to Probert’s house, where he would give them alcohol and provide them with heterosexual pornographic movies. “They would watch them together ... and engage in mutual masturbation." Some victims were made to perform oral sex on Probert, and he would perform oral sex on them, Clemons said during the preliminary hearing. She also testified that Probert sexually assaulted some of the victims by performing anal sex on them. “One (victim) performed anal sex on Probert.” During the earlier hearing, Clemons was asked about the accuracy of the victims’ memories regarding their ages at the time the alleged abuse occurred. She explained that many of the youths could tie the time of the incidents with other events in their lives, such as having braces or getting a driver’s license. The investigation against Probert began when Clemons was contacted about the case by Westminster Presbyterian Pastor Jonathan Rockness. In an earlier report, Rockness said that Probert is not on the church staff, nor has he ever been employed by Westminster. “However, through the years he has volunteered in various capacities for the church, including with youth trips that required chaperons,” Rockness said. “We have been fully cooperative with the authorities and will continue to be, as we are committed to uncovering the truth and seeing justice met,” Rockness said previously. “We also hope and pray for healing and wholeness for any potential victims in this situation. We are devastated for them and their families.” Probert’s trial date will be scheduled later this month, Ash said. Probert is currently on home confinement.
|
.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.