Raleigh County man sentenced to max of 130 years for sexually abusing stepdaughter
May 6—A Raleigh County man who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing his 11-year-old stepdaughter within the same month that the child's mother and sister died in a car crash was sentenced Monday to a maximum of 130 years.
The sentence is the result of a guilty plea former volunteer firefighter William Lee Pettry, 36, entered in March for the charges of first-degree sexual assault, sexual abuse by parent, guardian, custodian or person in a position of trust and use of a minor in the production of child porn.
According to information provided by Raleigh County Persecuting Attorney Ben Hatfield, Pettry sexually abused his 11-year-old stepdaughter between March 2023 and July 2023.
The sexual abuse was discovered toward the end of July when a relative of the 11-year-old found a video on the child's cell phone of Pettry eliciting sexual acts from the child.
The start of the sexual abuse occurred not long after Pettry's wife and 3-year-old daughter died in a hit-and-run.
Raleigh County Circuit Judge Andrew G. Dimlich imposed the sentence and ruled that Pettry's sentences for his crimes would run consecutively, giving him a minimum of 37.5 years and a maximum of 130 years.
Pettry's defense attorney argued for Pettry's sentences to run concurrently, which would have given Pettry a sentence of 25-100 years.
However, Dimlich sided with the prosecutor, who asked for the consecutive sentences, stating that the seriousness of the crimes, the age of the victim and Pettry's lack of remorse for the crimes left no room for leniency.
Hatfield said when state police initially interviewed Pettry, he blamed the victim for his crimes, implying that the child, who was 11 at the time, instigated the encounters.
"The judge was quoted as saying that showed a lack of remorse and that (Pettry) deserved no break for not having a criminal record ... that he deserved the full force and authority of the maximum sentence," Hatfield said.
Hatfield said no one from the victim's family spoke during the sentencing, although the 11-year-old and one of her relatives were present while the sentencing took place.
Hatfield said he believed this was the first time the victim had been in the same room with Pettry since his arrest.
"I think it speaks to the strides she's making in her own recovery and mental health from this incident," he said.
Hatfield added that as Pettry sentenced his stepdaughter to a lifetime of coping with the trauma he inflicted, it was only fitting that Pettry also suffer lifelong consequences.
Hatfield said cases such as these are "near and dear to his heart" because they impact the most vulnerable population.
"Kids of this age and younger, they rely on people, they trust people, and the idea that there is a monster under the bed or a monster in the closet is a little bit untrue; the monster is just right out in the open," he said. "In this case, it was the stepfather that was supposed to be looking out for her and loving her and guiding her through this very difficult time in her life, but he used that additional vulnerability of her being emotional and emotionally susceptible to groom and sexually abuse her for a protracted period of time."
Should Pettry ever make parole after serving a minimum of 37.5 years, Hatfield said Pettry would be required to have 50 years of post-release supervision and register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.
Email: jmoore@register-herald.com
