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Elkins man facing child porn charges

ELKINS – A former WorkForce West Virginia employee was arrested after allegedly downloading child pornography on his work computer, police said.

Samuel K. Leach, 58, of Elkins, was arrested Monday and charged with one count of distribution and exhibition of material depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, a felony.

Leach was arraigned by Magistrate George M. Riggleman on Tuesday and was being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail as of presstime. Riggleman set bond at $50,000 cash only.

West Virginia State Police officials received a report from the state Office of Information Security and Control – an agency that monitors state computers for any illegal activity – that sexually explicit material was “being downloaded and viewed” on one of the Work Force West Virginia computers in the Elkins office, according to the criminal complaint.

The Office of Information Security and Control was able to trace the IP address to a computer that was assigned to Leach, according to the complaint.

Cpl. K.A. Corley, the investigating officer, confirmed Tuesday that Leach worked at the Work Force West Virginia Office in Elkins and that the computer that contained the explicit material was his work computer. Police said that in order to operate his computer, Leach had to log in with a user name and password before the operating system would start.

Police “observed several photographs and images that were obtained by the West Virginia Office of Information Security and Control” depicting minors in a sexually explicit manner, according to the criminal complaint. The content was allegedly downloaded and viewed on Leach’s work computer between Dec. 3 and Dec. 23, 2013.

Courtney Sisk, spokeswoman for Work Force West Virginia, said Tuesday that Leach is no longer employed by the agency.

Also in Randolph County Magistrate Court:

  • An Elkins woman is facing a felony shoplifting charge after she allegedly tried to conceal items while shopping at Wal-Mart in Elkins, according to court documents.

Starr Raelyn Herron, 31, was arrested Tuesday on one count of shoplifting third offense, a felony, after police received a complaint on Monday from the store’s asset protection associate, who claimed that he had seen Herron “conceal some items while shopping at Wal-Mart,” according to the criminal complaint.

Police said the associate provided them with paperwork detailing the incident, including the total amount of merchandise stolen, $77.62. According to the complaint, the merchandise consisted mostly of “craft items” including a “32-GB micro SD card.”

Herron has two prior convictions for shoplifting dating back to September 2009, police said.

Herron was arraigned by Magistrate George M. Riggleman and is free on a $10,000 cash or surety bond.

Contact Chad Clem by email at cclem@theintermountain.com.

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