CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (AP) — A Virginia pastor has been acquitted of charges that he sexually abused a girl under the age of 12 in West Virginia.
The Exponent Telegram reports a jury on Wednesday found 77-year-old Daniel Houston Shafer of Elk Creek, Virginia, not guilty of first-degree sexual abuse.
Harrison County Detective Sgt. Zach Mealey had said Shafer was accused of inappropriately touching a girl while visiting in 2018.
Shafer’s attorney, Tom Dyer, questioned the reliability of the accuser during the two-day trial. Dyer says Shafer and his family feel vindicated and that there is “a great sense of relief that it’s all over.”
Shafer is listed as the pastor of Highway for the Remnant Ministries Inc. on the church’s website.
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Information from: The Exponent Telegram, http://www.theet.com
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