PKG | Martinsburg kidnapper gets 13 years behind bars
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - The female victim in a 2014 kidnapping case can rest a little easier as her assailant, 45-year-old Steven Rogers (of Martinsburg) was sentenced to spend the next 13 years behind bars.
Rogers entered a no-contest plea to kidnapping the victim from the 700-block of West Burke Street on Feb. 18, 2014. According to court documents, Rogers entered the house through the victim's balcony and held her at knifepoint for about two hours.
Rogers was also indicted on additional charges related to an alleged sexual assault, however, the charges were dismissed at the request of the victim.
"In this particular case, we did not pursue further with the sexual assault charges…because the victim just wanted to put this case behind her,” said Pamela Games-Neely, prosecuting attorney for Berkeley County.
Games-Neely also told WHAG that the victim did not reveal to police she was sexually assaulted by Rogers until later in the investigation. Games-Neely said that delay would have made it much harder to prosecute Rogers for sexual assault
Court documents said the victim and Rogers knew each other personally, but WHAG is withholding how they knew each other in order to protect the victim’s identity.
"A random sexual assault is odd,” Games-Neely said. “Most [victims] know their attacker, and very often, they're either somebody that they are intimate with, or a family member. We see that very, very frequently here."
Games-Neely estimates that one out of every ten sexual assaults in Berkeley County involve a random relationship between the victim and suspect, and said officials are currently seeing a rise in sexual assaults in the area.
"There is not an explanation for [the rise],” said Games-Neely. “It may be people are reporting more. It could be that we've just hit a cycle on it, and we're just seeing more and more of it."
Rogers will have to serve at least five years in prison before he is eligible for parole.