A Berkeley County judge sentenced Martinsburg resident Andrew Knox to 15 to 45 years in prison after he was convicted of sexually abusing a minor and of sexual abuse by a person in a position of trust. Knox will also be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and serve up to 50 years of supervised release once he eventually walks out of prison.
According to 930 WFMD Free Talk, the Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney's Office secured convictions against Knox on two separate counts: sexual abuse in the first degree, and sexual abuse by a parent, guardian, custodian, or person in a position of trust. The station reports that the supervised release period following Knox's prison term will effectively continue for the remainder of his life.
What the Law Required
The sentence tracks closely with the statutory ranges West Virginia law sets for these exact offenses. Under West Virginia Code § 61-8D-5, a person in a position of trust convicted of sexually abusing a child in their care faces a mandatory felony prison term of 10 to 20 years, regardless of whether the child consented or suffered physical injury. Separately, West Virginia Code § 61-8B-7 sets a prison term of five to 25 years, plus mandatory fines, for an adult convicted of first-degree sexual abuse against a victim younger than 12.
The 50-year ceiling on Knox's post-release supervision is not discretionary either. Under West Virginia Code § 62-12-26, anyone convicted of a felony sex crime against a child must serve an extended supervision period of 10 to 50 years once released, a structural piece of the original sentence that the state established under the Child Protection Act of 2006 to keep long-term tabs on convicted offenders.
Lifetime Registration, No Way Off
Knox's lifetime sex offender registration requirement is consistent with the West Virginia Sex Offender Registration Act, under Code § 15-12-2, which provides for lifetime registration following a conviction for first-degree sexual abuse. Failing to keep that registration current carries its own steep consequences: Code § 15-12-8 makes it a felony for a registered offender to skip a required address or personal-information update, punishable by one to 25 years in prison.
Probation officers have arrest and firearm authority.
A Court System in Transition
Berkeley County is part of the 27th Judicial Circuit Court.
The prosecuting attorney's office that handled Knox's conviction has seen its own transition. The Berkeley County Commission appointed Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Raymond E. Boyce Jr. as the county's new Prosecuting Attorney on October 8, according to The Panhandle News Network. Boyce had served as chief assistant prosecutor before stepping into the office's top role.
Knox's sentencing adds to a string of recent multi-decade prison terms tied to the region, including a 15-to-30-year sentence Hoodline reported for a former Waynesboro man arrested in Martinsburg over a Chambersburg shooting.
