MORGANTOWN — A man accused of putting his daughter in harm’s way during his arrest and a WVU employee accused of sending nude photos to a minor were among those indicted by the May term of the Monongalia County Grand Jury.
The grand jury returned 112 indictments Friday May 11. Those indicted will enter pleas at arraignment hearings in the Monongalia County Circuit Court.
Chadwick D. Alt, 34, of Morgantown, was indicted for soliciting a minor via computer and possession of material depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
According to his indictment, in March, Alt sent images of his genitals to a person he knew was a minor in an attempt to seduce her. The victim represented herself as a 12-year-old, the indictment stated.
Soliciting a minor via computer is punishable by two to 10 years in prison and/or fine up to $5,000. Possession of material depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct is punishable by up to two years in prison and/or a $2,000 fine. That charge is based on the number of images. Alt is charged with having fewer than 50.
Alt is employed by WVU Research Corp. and assigned to WVU Information Technology Services, WVU spokesperson John Bolt previously told The Dominion Post. Pending the resolution of the case, Alt was suspended without pay.
The grand jury indicted Scott A. Shahan, 42, of Kingwood, for child neglect resulting in substantial risk of injury, child abuse resulting in injury and attempting to disarm a police office.
Shahan used his daughter, a minor, as a shield while law enforcement attempted to arrest him, according to his indictment. The indictment also stated Shahan caused his child, identified by her initials, bodily injury resulting in bruising and scratching, and attempted to disarm a Monongalia County Sherriff’s deputy while the deputy was attempting to arrest him.
Child abuse resulting in injury is punishable by a fine of $100 to $1,000 and one to five years in prison or, at the court’s discretion, not more than a year in jail. Child neglect resulting in substantial risk of injury is punishable by a fine of $1,000 to $3,000 and/or one to five years in prison. Attempting to disarm an officer is punishable by one to five years in prison.
A complete list of indictments will run in a future edition of the newspaper.
