MORGANTOWN — A Harrison County resident helped police find a preteen girl from Kentucky, who said she had been taken and assaulted by a Clarksburg man.
Driving down W.Va. 58 in Anmoore on Wednesday, this motorist didn’t expect to see a young girl, naked and walking in the middle of the road.
But compassionate instincts kicked in and the motorist, putting in a day’s work, stopped to help the 12-year-old who told him she was escaping from a man who was in a nearby truck.
The Harrison County resident, who asked to not be identified for privacy, said he was just doing the right thing.
Christopher Lee Watson, 31, of Clarksburg, was charged Wednesday with third-degree sexual assault, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Anmoore Police Department.
The charge stems from Watson allegedly having sex with the 12-year-old from Kentucky.
W.Va. 58 runs through the outskirts of Harrison County with a mix of residential and industrial areas.
“She was walking on the center line of the road,” the motorist who stopped to help her said. “I pulled up beside her and asked her what happened. She was obviously in distress. She was nude and covered in scratches, dirt and mud.
“She said, ‘A guy just beat me up. He kidnapped me.’ ”
The motorists pulled off the road and got the preteen to the side of the road.
“About that time, a lady pulled in and we gave her some clothes,” he said. “I told the woman to call 911. It was almost instantaneous that police came around the corner.
“She already told me the guy was in a red truck, so I jumped back in my vehicle and drove up the road a little ways to make sure the guy wasn’t taking off. I didn’t see him anywhere.”
Turns out the alleged suspect was in an abandoned 18-wheeler, but the motorist was looking for someone in a drivable vehicle.
“I did see the junk and the truck sitting back there, but I had no idea he was in there.”
According to a press release from the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office, Watson was spotted walking from the scene and was stopped by officers.
The girl identified him as the man who assaulted her, according to the press release.
The girl told police she and the suspect had sex, according to the criminal complaint. That filing also indicated Watson admitted to police there was sexual contact between the two.
Watson was arraigned and bond was set at $25,000. He was still in North Central Regional Jail on Friday.
The motorist who helped the young girl left her with the police and went about his work day.
“I did what the next person coming behind me would have done,” he said. “I saw a kid in trouble and figured I should do what I could. I felt bad for her. She was in bad shape. She looked like someone tied her to the back of a four-wheeler and dragged her.
“I didn’t do anything. She was tough. She got herself out of there. I’m glad they got that guy.”
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