Man sentenced to at least 75 years in sex assault of child
NEW CUMBERLAND, W.Va. (AP) – A Northern Panhandle man has been sentenced to 75 to 300 years in prison for helping his son rape a 9-year-old boy in 2014.
Media outlets report 72-year-old Karl Halstead of Newell was sentenced Tuesday in Hancock County Circuit Court.
A jury last month convicted Halstead of aiding and abetting first-degree sexual assault.
Judge Jason Cuomo called the crimes unspeakable. He issued the maximum allowable sentence Tuesday and told Halstead that if he had the authority to impose the death penalty, “you’d have it today.”
Prosecutors say the victim was stacking tires with two other friends for the Halsteads when he was assaulted.
Karl Halstead maintained his innocence after leaving the courtroom.
Halstead’s son, Kevin Halstead of Newell, was sentenced last year to up to 20 years in prison.