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PHILIPPI – A Barbour County man was sentenced to up to 50 years in prison for sexual abusing a child for five years, officials said Tuesday.
Roscoe Jackson Keener, 77, was sentenced by Barbour County Circuit Court Judge Thomas B. Hoxie to two consecutive terms of not less than five nor more than 25 years for two counts of sexual abuse in the first degree. According to a release from the Barbour County Prosecutor’s Office, Keener’s total effective sentence is not less than 10 nor more than 50 years.
Keener is assessed the $1,000 mandatory minimum fine for each count, totaling $2,000. He is also required to register as a sexual offender for the remainder of his lifetime, and should he make patrol, Keener will be subject to sexual offender extended supervision for a period of 50 years.
According to the Barbour County Prosecutor’s Office, Keener previously entered guilty pleas to two counts of sexual abuse in the first degree. He was initially charged in 2025 with five counts of sexual abuse by a parent, guardian, custodian, and five counts of sexual assault in the first degree, all felonies.
The hearing was held on Sept. 24. Barbour County Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Phillips appeared on behalf of the state, and Keener was represented by attorney Gregory Michael.
Keener also underwent a pre-sentence investigation and a psycho-sexual risk assessment, according to the release. Hoxie reviewed the reports and, during the hearing, informed Keener that he was “disgusted” by Keener’s statement in the pre-sentence investigation, as Keener reportedly said he interpreted the victim sitting on his lap as being “flirty.” Hoxie reminded Keener that the victim was a seven-year-old child who saw Keener as family.
“Judge Hoxie informed (Keener) that this is one of the most heinous crimes under the law and that after a review of all matters, that (Keener) deserved to be in prison for the remainder of his life, and as (Keener) is currently 77 years old, that the available sentence effectively achieves that punishment,” the press release from the Prosecutor’s Office states.
According to the criminal complaint, filed by Cpl. Steven G. Blake with the West Virginia State Police, on Sept. 10, 2025, Blake received a complaint from an adult female who advised that Keener had sexually assaulted a juvenile.
The complainant told Blake that the juvenile victim had disclosed the sexual abuse to her earlier that day, and when the complainant confronted Keener, he “confirmed and confessed” to the allegations, the complaint states.
During the complainant’s meeting with Blake, Keener called the complainant, the complaint states. Blake writes that, over the phone, Keener confessed to “touching” the juvenile and stated he was going to “turn himself in.”
On Sept. 17, 2025, a forensic interview was conducted with the juvenile victim, the complaint states. The forensic interview revealed that Keener had been sexually abusing the juvenile victim for around five years.