Austin Fought Rempel, 34, of Morgantown, was sentenced by Judge Paul Gwaltney Monday in Monongalia County Circuit Court for two separate counts of first-degree sexual abuse and one count of sexually motivated battery.
According to Monongalia County Prosecutor Gabrielle Mucciola, Rempel was sentenced to two consecutive terms of 1-to-5 years in prison for two separate felony counts of sexual abuse in the first degree and one year for sexually motivated battery.
Rempel, who previously lived in the South Park neighborhood in Morgantown, will serve his one-year sentence at North Central Regional Jail and will be credited with the time he has already served.
He will be placed at the West Virginia State Penitentiary to serve his sentences for sexual abuse and will have a chance for parole after two years. Should parole be granted, he will serve 30 years of extended supervision.
Rempel was originally indicted in January 2022 for a second-degree sexual assault that occurred in 2016.
In July 2022, a capias warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to appear in court. He was located a few weeks later in Parkersburg and was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshal’s Service at that time.
Investigators later discovered up to six women who reported they had been abused by Rempel. Some of the accusations against him date back several years — as far back as the previously mentioned battery charge which occurred in November 2009 — as well as a sexual assault in July 2016, and sexual abuse in November 2020.
In March, Rempel entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors and pleaded no contest to the two counts of sexual abuse in the first degree and the misdemeanor count of sexually motivated battery.
Outside of the three counts on which he was convicted, prosecutors agreed to not pursue further criminal charges against him for sexual offenses he allegedly committed against three additional victims.
Prosecutors also agreed to dismiss one count of nonconsensual disclosure/threat of disclosure of private images from February 2022.
According to the terms of the plea agreement, Rempel will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
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