PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — Wood County Prosecutor Pat Lefebure says his office and local law enforcement officers have been able to get a better handle on sexual abuse crimes involving children in the last year.
“We’ve become much more aggressive in investigating and looking at these cases. Our local law enforcement departments have dedicated detectives solely to these types of crimes,” Lefebure told MetroNews Tuesday.
The latest case involves a Parkersburg school basketball coach who was accused of sexually abusing two male students at Van Devender Middle School.
Dwain Sponseller, 40, was suspended by the Wood County Board of Education last week after being charged with seven counts of sexual abuse. The students reported they were touched inappropriately in Sponseller’s office while he was coaching the team.
In Aug. 2023, former Parkersburg YMCA CEO Jeff Olson was charged with sexual crimes against minors. Olson pleaded guilty to charges of distribution, exhibition and engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
State Police said Olson distributed sexually explicit images to a girl in 2017 and 2018. He will be sentenced on April 11 at 9 a.m.
In June 2023, the Crimes Against Children Unit charged David Andrew Adams, of Wood County, with 16 criminal counts in connection with allegedly sexually assaulting and abusing three young girls under the age of 12. He was indicted on the charges in January.
Adams was a swimming coach at the YMCA and on unpaid administrative leave before the charges were filed. Investigators said the crimes occurred between October 2018 and July 2022.
Kyle Moore of Jackson County was appointed as a special prosecutor in the case due to a conflict of interest.
The investigations are not connected and are proceeding separately.
Lefebure said they will be able to prosecute more of these cases if more people report it.
“What we know from our stats as prosecutors is that these are essentially the least reported crimes. People are afraid, scared or embarrassed to come forward,” he said.
Some children are so young and innocent, they don’t even know they’re being abused, Lefebure said.
“A lot of children don’t realize or don’t understand that these acts by the parents or people that they’re supposed to be protected by are wrong. This is just normal to them, and they don’t know any different, so they’re not reported nearly enough,” he said.
That’s why Lefebure said it’s important to pay attention to changes in your child’s behavior.
“Certainly, any change in behavior would be an area of concern, but really just maintain an open line of communication with them. Talk to your children and always monitor what they are doing on their phone,” he said.