A 62-year-old Morgantown man is behind bars after investigators say a domestic violence arrest in August uncovered years of alleged sexual abuse against a 10-year-old male relative. Rodger Henderson, Sr. now faces a felony charge of sexual abuse by a parent, guardian or custodian, with court documents alleging the abuse began when the boy was just 7 years old.
According to WDTV 5, the investigation opened after Henderson was arrested on a domestic violence complaint involving the same boy in August. Court documents cited by the station allege that Henderson forced the boy to perform sexual acts on him on nearly 50 separate occasions. The boy told authorities that Henderson would smoke marijuana and drink alcohol before attempting to sexually assault him, per the same court records.
Henderson was charged by the Monongalia County Sheriff's Office, according to the station's reporting, and is now being held at the North Central Regional Jail and Correctional Facility in Greenwood, with bond set at $75,000. The regional facility is the site of his pretrial detention.
What Comes Next in Court
The case will proceed through the courts. It remains an open question whether prosecutors will pursue additional felony counts given the nearly 50 alleged incidents described in court documents, and when Henderson's preliminary hearing will be scheduled.
Under West Virginia Code § 61-8D-5(a), sexual abuse committed by a parent, guardian, custodian, or person in a position of trust is classified as a felony carrying a mandatory sentence of 10 to 20 years in a state correctional facility, along with a fine between $500 and $5,000, according to statutory language compiled by FindLaw. The cited statutory language sets out the offense and its penalties.
Registry Requirements and Limited Probation
A conviction under that statute would carry consequences well beyond prison time. Questions about registry requirements and probation would involve provisions not described in the cited statute.
The Monongalia County Sheriff's Office is the agency that executed the felony warrant and has led domestic violence investigations across the county. Sheriff Todd Forbes reported in December that deputies investigated 451 domestic incidents countywide over the course of 2025, a volume that underscores how often domestic violence calls can become the entry point for deeper child abuse investigations.
The case also highlights the importance of reporting suspected child sexual abuse.
