CLARKSBURG, W. Va. —The case of sex-related charges against a Harrison County Magistrate will be heading to a grand jury.
Probable cause was found Wednesday in the case against Magistrate Mark Gorby, who was arrested on Oct. 9 on allegations of having forced sexual intercourse on an underage female while she was living with him between 2005 and 2009.
Testimony was presented to Special Magistrate Kim Blair from the accuser, the accuser’s mother and the State Trooper assigned to the case.
The alleged victim, who was Gorby’s stepdaughter at the time of the alleged abuse, recounted the five times Gorby allegedly forced intercourse, beginning when she was around 9 years of age until the final time when she was 12.
She did not admit any abuse occurred until August of this year — the accuser now 18-years-old– while in rehab receiving treatment for heroin usage, first telling a fellow patient and then her father.
The special prosecutor representing the state asked the accuser to tell the court why she delayed telling someone about the alleged abuse. She claimed Gorby bribed her with things her mother would not let her have and also told her that if she spoke about it to anyone, she and her family would have to go back to not having “nice things” they couldn’t afford while living in a single-bedroom home financed by a single mother. After her mother and Gorby’s relationship ended in 2009, she claimed it was not a subject she wished to discuss.
Her mother was called on by the defense to testify. She said she had her suspicions, claiming she could hear Gorby entering the child’s room on multiple occasions late in the night, but never took the child to a doctor because her suspicions did not include intercourse. She also claimed to have stopped asking the child in 2010 after repeated denials.
The defense argued there was no probable cause due to the victim previously denying any abuse taking place. Also, the claim was made that the credibility of the accusations were in question since they were not brought about until the accuser was in a dysfunctional point in her life and the drugs may have skewed her recollections.
However, the prosecutor for the state said they were not arguing guilt or innocence at this time and the testimony was sufficient in determining the case should go to trial.
Magistrate Kim Blair agreed with the state and determined the case should go to Harrison County Circuit Court. However, a schedule for future hearings has not yet been set.
Gorby was originally freed on bond but a new bond agreement was reached after Wednesday’s hearing, in which he is prohibited from any contact with the accuser.