Mon County man takes Alford plea in sexual abuse of minors case

Jul. 20—A Monongalia County man indicted in September on 10 counts of sexual abuse of a child, involving multiple victims dating back as far as 1984, entered into a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to four counts first degree sexual abuse and two counts incest Monday afternoon in Monongalia Count Circuit Court.

The accused, Randy Eugene Murray Sr., 61, entered into what is known as an Alford plea, according to the plea agreement.

An Alford plea is a guilty plea in which a defendant maintains their innocence but admits that the prosecution's evidence would likely result in a guilty verdict if the case is brought to trial.

With the Alford plea, Murray will not be required to give a factual basis for his pleas of guilty and waives his right to trial.

Murray could face 1-5 years of incarceration for each of three first degree sexual assault charges and 5-25 years for one count occurring at a time when the victim was younger than 12 years old.

He also faces 5-10 years for each of the incest charges. He will be sentenced at a later date.

According to the plea agreement, the state will not make a recommendation as to whether Murray's sentences should run concurrently, meaning at the same time, or consecutively, meaning one after another.

However, the agreement stated the state will oppose any request for alternative sentencing such as probation or home confinement.

According to court documents, Murray will make a request that all sentences run concurrently.

The agreement said he will also request any alternative sentence available by law after completion of a pre-sentence investigation by the Monongalia County Probation Office and the submission of a sex offender evaluation.

Victim impact statements will also be obtained from all victims listed in the indictment and submitted to the court prior to sentencing.

Murray will also be subject to registration requirements, and extended supervision as required.

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