Woman allegedly helped man, four children were under 13

A Lawrence County Grand Jury has indicted a Proctorville man on 51 counts of first-degree rape; his wife has been indicted on charges that she helped him.

Don D. Copley, 68, of 1518 County Road 70, was formally accused of “engaging in sexual conduct” with four girls who were under the age of 13 at the time of the alleged incidents.

The indictment alleges 10 incidents with one victim took place between 1991 and 1997. The indictment alleges 20 incidents took place with the second child between 1991 and 1996.

Copley is accused of criminal activity with the third child 10 times between 1993 and 1996 and 10 more times between 1996 and 2001. The last indictment alleges one act with the fourth child sometime between June and August of 2011. All the charges allege Copley committed the incidents “by force, threat of force or deception.”

His wife, Beverly K. Copley, 56, of the same address, was indicted on 41 counts of complicity to rape, which are also first-degree felonies. The indictment alleges Beverly Copley “did aid or abet Don D. Copley” in committing 41 of his 51 alleged sex crimes including the most recent ones.

In a separate alleged sex crime case, a Tipp City man was indicted on count of first-degree rape. Daniel L. Couch, 41, of 5755 Bradley Drive, was alleged to have committed the crime sometime between April 1, 2011 and April 30, 2011.

A South Point man was indicted on one count of failure to report a change of address. Stanley Sharp, 44 of 2524 County Road 15, is a registered sex offender, the indictment said, and is therefore required by state law to notify the sheriff’s office if he moves to a new residence.

Two people have been indicted on charges of identity fraud in two unrelated cases. Judy L. Campbell, 55, 2507 Farmhill Drive, Flatwoods, Ky., was also indicted on felony charges of forgery and possession of drugs and misdemeanor counts of possession of drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia in addition to the felony ID fraud charge. Trevor Williams, 25, of 2402 Monroe St., Ashland, Ky., was also indicted on one count of possession of drugs as well as the ID fraud charge.

Two men were indicted on charges of theft from Mid Continent Coal and Coke Company in Ironton. Jake Lee Dodson, 18, of 322 Ridgeway St., Coal Grove and David A. Jackson, 31, of 315 Ridgeway St., Coal Grove are accused of taking 12 large blue steel rollers, numerous beige metal screen caps and 32 large steel leaf springs valued between $1,000 and $7,500.

The grand jury also returned one secret drug indictment. The grand jury met Monday and Tuesday. According to information from the Lawrence County Prosecutor’s Office, others indicted were:

• Scott Jenkins, 30, of 605 N. Fifth St., felonious assault.

• Trent S. Smoot, 33, of 122 Meadow Lane, South Point, two counts of possession of drugs.

• Waymon D. Smith, 22, of 70 Private Drive 302, Room 210, South Point, burglary.

• Jeffrey S. Spencer, 33, of 248 Township Road 1163, Proctorville, two counts of domestic violence.

• Maria D. Carter, 41, 1566 Northridge Road, Columbus, one count of endangering children. She is accused of driving recklessly with one or more children in the car.

• Nicholas Kouns, 41, 8416 Johnson Fork Road, one count each of breaking and entering and theft.

• Robert Gorby, 57, 58 Township Road 1057, Proctorville, one count of felony intimidation, one count of felony theft and one count of misdemeanor theft.

• Kayla Barry, 20, 11287 County Road 1, Chesapeake, theft.

• Garland J. Shafer, 58, 350 Susan Court, Ironton, theft by deception. He is accused of taking between $7,500 and $150,000 from the State Teachers Retirement System.

• Paul D. Brown, 36, 92 Township Road 1018, South Point, one count each of intimidation and open burning.