WESTON, W.Va. (WBOY) — A former minister and his wife have been charged after victims came forward with more than 60 cases of sexual abuse and assault in Lewis County dating back more than 20 years.

According to criminal complaints filed Nov. 18 in Lewis County, John Radcliff, 57, of Nettie, sexually abused and assaulted at least five minor victims dozens of times between 1987 and 2003.

Troopers from the Weston Detachment of the West Virginia State Police began an investigation into Radcliff on Oct. 28 after was arrested on sex abuse charges in Nicholas County in September and troopers learned there may be additional victims in Lewis County.

Interviews with five of those victims were conducted between Sept. 16 and Nov. 17 in Lewis County, according to five separate criminal complaints against Radcliff.

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One victim said Radcliff’s abuse began when she was 3 years old, according to a complaint. She recalled an instance when she was 8 years old and Radcliff put his hand on her genitals while she was in his vehicle and “began to ‘teach’ her how to stimulate a man,” according to the complaint . The victim’s statement said that after that, Radcliff “cleaned up and threw the trash out the window and then they went back to his house like nothing happened.”

In another case, when the victim was about 10-12 years old, John Radcliff and his wife Kathy Radcliff, 52, of Nettie, asked the victim and another child to watch a “porn film” with them and then they would performed sexual acts while the children were in the room, the complaint said.

According to the complaint, the victim said she was “110 percent sure that Mrs. Radcliff knew about everything Mr. Radcliff was doing” and that she believed Kathy was “helping to cover up” for her husband.

A second victim said in statements to law enforcement that John sexually abused her three times starting when she was 4 years old, a complaint also said. He allegedly forced the victim to touch her genitals and perform oral sex on her at home and in his vehicle.

A third victim said John began sexually abusing her when she was in elementary school and recalled instances of abuse that occurred in both Lewis and Harrison counties, where “he would put -she’s going to touch him and touch his cock,” as well as perform oral sex. according to a third complaint.

A fourth victim said she was abused by John Radcliff between the ages of 3 and 11 and recalled several instances of abuse that occurred in Lewis and Braxton counties, including one in which she was bathed by Kathy as a child and John “came and was trying to put his penis in her mouth” three times, a fourth complaint said.

In another instance, when the victim was 11, John put his hand on his genitals while they were in his vehicle, and she pulled away from him several times, grabbing “the door handle and holding l as tight as possible so he can’t. keep it up,” the complaint said. Afterwards, the victim said John “stopped at a convenience store and said let’s go in and get you a treat” and then “bought her a slushy and said make sure you drink that before we get there because he did not buy the other children. whatever,” according to the complaint.

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A fifth victim said during interviews with law enforcement that the sexual assault incidents “happened so many times, she wasn’t sure a few times”; the victim was between the ages of 4 and 14 when the assaults occurred, according to the complaint.

“These are just a few of the many revelations from multiple victims of a large-scale, multi-county investigation,” troopers said.

Court documents said the victims “all came forward in 2004, but there was never a finding in this investigation.” One victim said during interviews that “when it all came out, (Kathy) called her and apologized for everything and told her she believed her,” troopers said.

The documents also said John Radcliff was “a preacher and ran a youth ministry” and was either related to the five child victims or “seen as a father figure”. One of the victims also said she “knows there were more victims but can’t remember their names” and said “there were at least 13 more,” according to court documents.

John Radcliff was indicted on the following charges in Lewis County:

• 26 allegations of sexual abuse

• 35 counts of sexual assault

• 1 count of displaying obscene material to a minor

According to complaints filed in Lewis County, additional charges were also filed in Braxton and Harrison counties, but 12 News was unable to obtain those criminal complaints due to a West Virginia law related to disclosure of sex offender information. John was booked into Central Regional Jail on Tuesday and is being held on $1.7 million bail. He was too charged with eight felonies in Nicholas County in September 2024.

Kathy Radcliff was charged with first degree and showing obscene material to a minor. She was also booked into Central Regional Jail on Tuesday and is being held on $75,000 bond.

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