A former Summers County Fire Department chief has pleaded guilty to one felony offense of sexual assault in the first degree after initially being charged with multiple felonies involving children.
Brian Maxwell Cale, 35, entered his plea in Summers County Circuit Court on Monday, Nov. 1.
Back on June 11, Cale was charged in Summers County Magistrate Court on two felony counts of sexual assault in the first degree and two felony counts of sexual abuse in the first degree.
According to the criminal complaint, between June 1-December 1, 2020, Cale “did unlawfully and feloniously engage in sexual intercourse, sexual intrusion, and/or sexual contact” with two juveniles ages 11 and 12.
Additionally, Cale was charged with the felony counts of solicitation of a minor, distribution of sexually explicit material to a minor, child abuse resulting in injury and the misdemeanor offense of contributing to the delinquency of a minor—after providing illegal substances to a juvenile and uploading sexual images of a juvenile female to Snapchat between August and October 2020, the complaint states.
As part of the plea agreement, Cale will be required to register as a sex offender, is subject to DNA testing, and, after completing his prison sentence, must be placed on supervised release for a period of up to 50 years.
The state of West Virginia has agreed to dismiss other criminal charges in this matter and will “not prosecute for any known or could reasonably be known through the current investigation sexual acts allegedly committed by Brian Maxwell Cale, or possession of any known child pornography,” according to the plea agreement.
Cale will be sentenced at a later date. He faces 25-100 years in prison and a fine of $5,000-$25,000.
