HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — A Wayne County teenager has been arrested and charged with sexual assault, which stems from an incident on a school campus during school hours.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Wayne County Magistrate Court, Joshua Tackett, 18, is charged with sexual assault after deputies said he forced a girl to have sex with him at Spring Valley High School. Tackett was a student at Spring Valley but has since been expelled.
A deputy with the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department said that he spoke with a girl in early April and she said that she was raped.
The complaint says during a forensics interview, the student said on March 14, Tackett approached her at lunch and forced her to have sex with him in an auditorium despite her saying no.
According to the complaint, the victim said Tackett had sex with her, and he told her not to tell anyone or he would have a female beat her up. The victim said the same thing happened again later in March, and that time Tackett pinned her head under a chair.
According to WSAZ-TV, Wayne County Schools Superintendent Todd Alexander confirmed the incident allegedly happened on school property during school hours.
Tackett’s bond was set at $40,000 but has since made bond and been released. He waived his preliminary hearing.
The case will be presented to the grand jury as an investigation is ongoing.