PHILIPPI, W.Va. — State Police have charged a Philippi man with child abuse after he was accused of harassing children with a blow torch.
The investigation began when the Barbour County Prosecutor’s Office contacted troopers by letter about allegations of abuse at an area home.
The information included details of a forensic interview with a 13-year-old juvenile male who said Jason Simons, 40, chased him through the house with a blow torch on multiple occasions.
In one instance, the boy told police he hid from Simons inside a pantry, and the suspect “screwed” the door shut and placed the blow torch through a hole in the door.
The information also said Simons chased the 13-year-old and an 8-year-old male around the house with sharp objects on occasion, and he does own a.22 caliber firearm that is in the house. The boy told the interviewer Simons also fired the.22 out of the window of the home.
Simons is being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail in lieu of a $50,000 bond.