A McDowell man was sentenced to 70 years in prison in late July after he was found guilty of repeatedly raping and performing sexual acts on a 12-year-old child over a period of approximately six months.
Stephen Eric Strange of Marion was charged on June 22, 2022, with two counts of statutory rape of a child by an adult, two counts of statutory sexual offense with a child by an adult, and four counts of indecent liberties with a child. The crimes occurred in the fall of 2017 through the spring of 2018 in Marion with a child who lived in the home with Strange.
At the time, Strange was 46 years old and the child victim was only 12. Strange’s wife, three of the Stranges’ biological children and the victim’s mother were all living in the home with Strange when the offenses first began, according to information from the District Attorney’s office.
The evidence showed the first incident took place one evening in the fall of 2107 when Strange and the victim were home alone together. Strange asked the victim if she wanted to learn about sex. The victim initially resisted Strange’s advances, but eventually submitted because of his intimidation and physical size.
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Strange took the victim behind a futon in the living room and proceeded to rape her for approximately five to 10 minutes but stopped when he heard a car pulling into his driveway. Strange told the victim to get dressed and go into the kitchen as if nothing happened, according to information from the District Attorney’s office.
According to the evidence and testimony, the home environment gradually became worse and by the beginning of 2018, only Strange, the victim, and the Stranges’ biological son lived in the house.
During this period, Strange had a bedroom in the basement area of the house and was the only person sleeping downstairs at night. During this time, Strange repeatedly raped and sexually abused the victim. He would notify the victim that he was “ready” by knocking on his ceiling (the victim’s room was directly above his), by going to the victim’s room, or by texting the victim and telling the victim to come downstairs.
When the victim would get down to Strange’s bedroom, he would begin by forcing the victim to perform sex acts on him and after that he would proceed to rape the victim. The evidence at trial was that this took place approximately 15 times between March 1, 2018, and May 31, 2018. Eventually, on the last day of school, the victim’s mother and the victim moved from the Stranges’ home to another county, according to information from the District Attorney’s office.
For a long time, the victim did not tell anyone what Strange had done to her. But after she and her mother had been out from under Strange’s control for over a year, the victim finally told her mother, who immediately reported it to the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office.
A forensic interview and medical evaluation was performed on the victim at Lily’s Place Child Advocacy Center in Marion, and the Sheriff’s Office, led by lead Detective Billie Brown, who conducted an extensive investigation, including interviewing the other individuals who had been living in the home during the relevant time.
The individuals who resided in the home testified to seeing the victim and Strange together at odd hours either late at night or early in the morning together. This was significant, as Strange had repeatedly told Brown that he had never been alone with the victim, according to information from the District Attorney’s office.
During the week of Monday, July 24, Strange was on trial at McDowell County Superior Court. After deliberating less than 40 minutes, the jury found Strange guilty of numerous charges of repeatedly raping and performing sexual acts on the 12-year-old child.
The court sentenced Strange, who was previously convicted in 2013 of taking indecent liberties with a child and was a registered sex offender, to two consecutive sentences of 25 to 35 years, for a total of 70 years in prison, according to information from the District Attorney’s office.
District Attorney Ted Bell and his office expressed their gratitude to Beth Browning, who is a sexual assault nurse examiner, and the McDowell Child Advocacy Center for their work with the victim, as well as Detective Brown with the McDowell County Sheriff’s office for her hard work and thorough investigation.
“The District Attorney’s Office is also very thankful for the courage the victim showed throughout this ordeal, and the family and friends who came and supported the victim,” reads a statement from the DA.