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Man Charged with 450+ Sex Charges

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Posted: 6:34 PM May 16, 2008
Last Updated: 2:02 AM May 17, 2008
Reporter: Mike Waterhouse
Email Address: mike.waterhouse@wsaz.com

33 comments

A | A | A

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- State Police have arrested and charged a man from Charleston with more than 450 counts of sexual assault and abuse.

According to a news release from Sergeant Kenneth McCord with the West Virginia State Police, 26-year-old Samuel Tolbert was having sexual relations for more than a year with a girl who is now 14 years old.

McCord says the victim's grandparents contacted troopers after seeing him sleep in the same bed as the girl.

The victim told investigators that the abuse had been going on since January, 2007, according to McCord.

Tolbert is charged with 232 counts of third degree sexual assault and 232 counts of of third degree sexual abuse.

Troopers also arrested the victim's mother, 38-year-old Lora Hedricks. She's charged with 232 counts of child neglect.

McCord says Hedricks knew that her daughter and Tolbert were sharing a bedroom and that she was aware of how serious the relationship had become since Tolbert moved in with them.

According to McCord, Tolbert has no prior convictions of sexually-related crimes and is not a registered sex offender.

Both Tolbert and Hedricks were arraigned before a Kanawha County magistrate Friday night.

Child Protective Services has taken custody of the alleged victim.

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Comments are posted from viewers like you and do not always reflect the views of this station.

Posted by: isis quinn on Jun 20, 2008 at 04:24 PM
for one thing this is the real isis and how ever used my name on here better quint becouse it is not funny.

Posted by: isis on Jun 10, 2008 at 06:11 PM
for one thing the boyfriend had controll over the house and everyone in it.

Posted by: Here is a fix on May 19, 2008 at 08:20 PM
Death to perverts who are caught like this. The mother needs it too. This baby is ruined for life because her mother neglected her. Poor child

Posted by: putnam co on May 19, 2008 at 04:07 PM
IT is a very bad thing that is going on with the kids any more.people wanting to sexualy abuse them and you cant even send them to school any more the teachers want to sexualy abuse them.and over half the people in wv that sexualy abuse kids are kin to them in one way or another.back in the day it may have been ok for those folks but this is the modern times and we are all our kids have to protect them.so if the mother knew that this guy was doing that and the doughter did not agree then she needs some time in jail to think about what she let happen to her doughter.and i am sure that a lot of other people agree that at 14 the girl is NOT old enough to make those chocies.and people that do that stuff needs to get more then a year or two for what thay did.

Posted by: To: Times are changing on May 19, 2008 at 02:23 PM
"Times are changing", I am thinking about it logically. Kids do not have the mantality, and someone along the way just happeneds to notice. I bet you are a 50 year old pervert wishing things could go back to the way they were. The media has no say in this topic concerning my children, you knock on my door looking for any my kids,and... uhmm lets just say, you will get what is coming to you.

Posted by: Times are a changin' on May 19, 2008 at 04:04 AM
I wonder if you all consider parents of the past "disgusting" for letting their daughters marry older men? 50 years ago this type of thing was the norm. Why is it so bad now? Because the media says so? Think about it logically.

Posted by: Ace on May 18, 2008 at 11:42 PM
Give me a break there cupid, one was a child and one was an adult and then there was the mother. Can`t you see the problem here,or do you have a problem in this area to.? All i`m saying is she might of thought she was in love with this molester, but the mother should of put the fear of GOD into her daughter and have the man sent to jail. But the mother and the guy are going to spend a lot of time in jail. And just think of what the child is going to be going thru ? What kind of jail is that to carry aroud with you the rest of your life?

Posted by: putnam co on May 18, 2008 at 04:12 PM
Dont get all blowed up BETH all i was saying was it is a posability it could have been that way.and most likley WAS.and i dont make excuses for NOBODY.it was just a posablity.you never no mabey the two women had control over him.and he was probaliy loving it.

Posted by: Eilene on May 18, 2008 at 12:21 PM
I agree with many of these comments. I am sick and tire of people justifying the mother. Women like this do not deserve to have children. Any women that would allow someone to abuse her childre are just as guilty as the abuser.

Posted by: terry on May 18, 2008 at 01:08 AM
discusting laws should change to allow the death penalty for type of crime if it is all infact proven thats hes guilty

Posted by: Beth Ann on May 17, 2008 at 09:45 PM
How can someone sit here and type that this lady looks like she was controlled. I don't care if it came out to where she was scared of him or whatever, do not sit here and make excuses for her. I don't know any of these people, but I have kids and stories like this make me so mad. She was this little girls mom and she should have protected her. I hope they both get what they deserve.

Posted by: Anonymous on May 17, 2008 at 05:59 PM
Maybe they were in love? A 14 year old little girl & a 26 year old man have nothing in common. I cannot believe a mother would allow her 14 year old to sleep with any boy, even one her own age. But allowing a grown man to move into your home & sleep with your daughter, that's beyond sad.

Posted by: To: Tell the truth !!!!! on May 17, 2008 at 05:03 PM
She is 14 not 24, thats 10 years to grow up! At 14 this child only thinks she knows what she's doing! Was the mother sleeping with him also? They both need jail time and the daughter needs to be placed somewhre safe!

Posted by: putnam co on May 17, 2008 at 02:31 PM
Well to start with if you seen the jail sights thay have them on you could see that neather of them look like thay are stacked with a full deck.unfortonatly i have seen other cases like this and most of them turned out to be a case where the boyfreind was very domonint over the people thay were staying with.with there tough guy atatude.this lady looks to be someone that could be pushed around or controlled very easaly.and the guy is so asamed that he cant even look at the camera.he is a very sick person and i think once the story comes out thay will most likly find out that the guy had full control over both of them.

Posted by: April on May 17, 2008 at 02:22 PM
What a sad situation. Because of her mothers ignorance that child has to pay. The girl probably didn't think there was anything wrong since her mother "allowed" it to happen. You can't trust people anymore. Her mom was probably trying to be her daughters Best Friend and allow it to happen but she's just a CHILD!! People need to wake up and be ADULTS!

Posted by: BIRDEYE on May 17, 2008 at 01:58 PM
BOTH SHOULD GET LIFE. THIS MAKES ME SICK, JUST HOW THE HECK COULD A MOTHER LET THIS GO ON. GOD WILL GET BOTH.

Posted by: Trixie on May 17, 2008 at 12:54 PM
Wow mom, good job..What a way to teach your daughter how to be a great woman.

Posted by: Anonymous on May 17, 2008 at 11:02 AM
Seen this happen before. A guy comes in helps with groceries and bills, mows the lawn,helps around the house and then helps himself to the kids and the mom thinks its alright because he is such a "great" guy.

Posted by: Beth Ann on May 17, 2008 at 09:10 AM
My prayers are with this little girl. That is just sick. I hope her mom gets as much as jail time as this child molester. I applaud the grandparents for knowing it was wrong and reporting it. I hope this girl gets the help she needs, because she will need it.

Posted by: DYNO on May 17, 2008 at 08:02 AM
14 it all started when the little girl was only 13. I have a daughter this age an i can only pray for her safety against perverts like this. Jail is to good for these two yes both mother an whatever you can call such a person.

Posted by: Just Me on May 17, 2008 at 05:01 AM
I have a 14 year old daughter and I would beat a 26 year old to death for trying to touch her, let alone sleep with her. What in the world is wrong with this mother??? She needs as much, if not more, jail time than that perverted man does! They have ruined that kid. Poor thing.

Posted by: Anonymous on May 17, 2008 at 03:08 AM
Does anyone know why the man was living in the home or how he was related to them?

Posted by: Cupid on May 17, 2008 at 01:42 AM
Maybe they were in love.

Posted by: Anonymous on May 17, 2008 at 12:54 AM
This is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard of. Letting a grown man sleep with your 14 year old daughter. This is severe neglect. She needs to get as much if not more jail time as the man. I just have one question....How did they come up with the charges of 232 counts of sexual assault and 232 counts of sexual abuse??? If anyone can answer that please do. I would think that you would have charged them for each day that he was with the girl. So from Jan of 2007 to now...thats alot more counts. I hope they both rot in jail.

Posted by: Tell the truth !!!!! on May 16, 2008 at 09:54 PM
Was they going out ? 14 is the new 20 . for guys 26 could still be 16 . It is still sick but to tell the truth would we look at this soo sick if they were 24 and 36 ? That's the real question !

Posted by: Joanne on May 16, 2008 at 09:18 PM
How could any mother allow a grown man violate her daughter this way? She needs to be put away for a long long time! Right next to Tolbert. Let the other inmates know what he's done and allow jailhouse justice to be carried out. Then he'll understand not to mess with a child. I hope that the young girl gets the psychiatric help she will definitely need now that this has happened. She isn't and wasn't mature enough to ever have "consented" to a "relationship" of this magnitude. What a sad thing to have happen to a child. Robbed of her childhood by not just Tolbert, but her mother as well. I use the term mother loosely mind you. My thoughts are with this troubled young girl. If I had caught a man in bed with my child, I'd probably be in prison now because of killing him. I'm so disgusted.

Posted by: Ace on May 16, 2008 at 08:51 PM
How could a parent let this go on, does'nt she know what kind of hurt and self esteem problems this child is going to have most likely for the rest of her life? Thank GOD the grandparents took a stand and put a stop to this child injustice. I think both of them should be charged with sexual abuse,seeing the mother knew what was going on and charged them both with child neglect,put them both in jail,and let it be known to the inmates just what they have done and let justice come quickly. I can only hope that the prosecutor doesn`t accept plea deals. That's why this keeps happening......

Posted by: Anonymous on May 16, 2008 at 08:40 PM
I just truley dont understand what this world has come to.....I cant believe that a mother would let her child in that kind of an environment with a complete stranger and know what he is doing to her daughter....it's rediculus

Posted by: Anonymous on May 16, 2008 at 08:08 PM
what kind of mother allows a 26 year old share a bedroom with a 14year old? she should be charged with more than neglect that is sick... I have a 14 year old daughter that I would never allow that too happen.

Posted by: missy on May 16, 2008 at 07:45 PM
how could a mother know that this is happening and not do ANYTHING about it. both the abuser and mother should have the book thrown at them. why would a mother let a 26 year old sleep her teenage girls bedroom to begin with? sick

Posted by: Levi on May 16, 2008 at 07:30 PM
Both need to spend a lot of time in prison. Scum bags!!!!

Posted by: disgusted on May 16, 2008 at 07:15 PM
they need to be locked up..thats just sick and the mother is pathetic by letting it go on..who would want a man that old if you're that young?..nasty

Posted by: alan on May 16, 2008 at 07:03 PM
momma cat wanted rid of a kitten.

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