FAYETTE COUNTY, W.Va. — A federal jury has convicted a law enforcement officer of child sex trafficking and obstruction.
For four days, a jury listened to the case of Larry Allen Clay Jr., 57, of Fayetteville, accused of sex trafficking a 17-year-old minor female.
The jury found Clay guilty of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of a minor and via coercion, sex trafficking of a minor and via coercion, and two counts of obstruction of justice for the instances from June 2020.
Clay is scheduled to be sentenced on July 20. He faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and up to life in prison. Clay will also be required to register as a sex offender.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia Will Thompson said Friday during a press conference that evidence brought forth during the trial proved Clay committed such crimes at least twice.
“On two separate occasions, Clay rendered payments of $50 to a co-defendant to have sex with a 17-year-old minor female,” said Thompson.
The co-defendant in this case is Kristen Naylor-Legg who plead guilty to conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking on September 21, 2021. Naylor-Legg faces up to life in prison too. She will be sentenced on May 11, and will be required to register as a sex offender.
“Clay sought to persuade his co-defendant from speaking to law enforcement about the incident, and also asked a fellow officer if his criminal conduct could be covered up,” Thompson said.
Clay was employed by both the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department as a deputy and with the Gauley Bridge Police Department where he was Chief of Police.
During each incident, Clay remained in his Gauley Bridge Police uniform. The first incident occurred in Clay’s Gauley Bridge-issued vehicle on a rural road in Fayette County. The second incident took place inside the old Gauley Bridge High School.
Thompson said the victim did not participate in these acts willingly. He calls the victim a “very brave woman.”
“Don’t give up because things get difficult. Just because things get scary, doesn’t mean that they always end badly,” said Thompson reading a statement that the victim gave during the trial.