WESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia State Police arrested a Lewis County government official Tuesday on allegations of harassment.
Lewis County Assessor Timothy Chad Kelley, 38, of Jane Lew, allegedly sent hundreds of texts and calls to the victims cell phone at all hours of the day. He also allegedly would not leave the victim’s back porch and driveway for hours at a time.
According to the criminal complaint, Kelley’s alleged harassment occurred between March 7th and April 12th this year.
He released the following statement via his personal Facebook page.
“To all my supporters. I am only going to make this one statement followed by no answers. The allegations out there are completely and utterly baseless. My attorneys and I will be vigorously defending myself against the alleged false allegations. I have every bit of confidence in the local system that I will be completely exonerated at the end of the judicial process.”
Kelley, a Democrat, is up for re-election this year. He ran unopposed in 2008.
He is not facing any challenge in the May 10th primary, but will face a challenger in the general election this year. Jane Lew resident John Breen filed for the Republican nomination for Lewis County Assessor in January.
Breen is also running unopposed in his primary.