A former minister and his wife have been charged after victims revealed more than 60 instances of sexual abuse and assault in Lewis County that happened more than 20 years ago.
According to criminal complaints filed in Lewis County on Nov. 18, John Radcliff, 57, of Nettie, sexually abused and assaulted at least five juvenile victims dozens of times between 1987 and 2003.
As reported by WBOY, troopers with the Weston detachment of West Virginia State Police began an investigation into Radcliff on Oct. 28 after he was arrested on sexual abuse charges in Nicholas County in September and troopers learned that there may be additional victims in Lewis County.
Radcliff Allegedly Abused a 3-Year-Old, Told Her He Was Teaching Her ‘How to Stimulate a Man’
Interviews with five of these victims were conducted between Sept. 16 and Nov. 17 in Lewis County, according to five separate criminal complaints against Radcliff.
One victim said that the abuse by Radcliff started when she was 3 years old, according to a complaint. She recalled one instance when she was 8 years old and Radcliff put her hand on his genitals while she was in his vehicle and “began ‘teaching her’ how to stimulate a man,” according to the complaint.
The victim’s statement said that afterward, Radcliff “cleaned himself up and threw the trash out the window and they then returned to his house like nothing happened.”
Radcliff and His Wife Made Children Watch a ‘Porno Movie,’ Then Performed Sexual Acts in Front of Them
In another instance when the victim was approximately 10–12 years old, John Radcliff and his wife Kathy Radcliff, 52, of Nettie, had asked the victim and another child to watch a “porno movie” with them and then allegedly performed sexual acts while the children were in the room, the complaint said.
According to the complaint, the victim said that “she was 110% sure that Mrs. Radcliff knew about everything that Mr. Radcliff was doing” and that she believed Kathy was “helping cover for” her husband.
John Accused of Making Several Other Victims Touch His Genitals, Forcing Oral Sex on Them
A second victim said in statements to law enforcement that John had sexually abused her three times, starting when she was 4 years old, another complaint said. He allegedly forced the victim to touch his genitals and perform oral sex on him at his home and in his vehicle.
A third victim said that John began sexually abusing her when she was in elementary school and recalled instances of abuse that happened in both Lewis County and Harrison County where “he would have her touch him and touch his penis” as well as perform oral sex, according to a third complaint.
A fourth victim said that she was abused by John from ages 3–11 and recalled several instances of abuse that happened in Lewis and Braxton counties, including one where she was being bathed by Kathy as a young child and John “came over and was attempting to put his penis in her mouth” three times, a fourth complaint said.
In another instance when the victim was 11, John put her hand on his genitals while they were in his vehicle, and she pulled away from him several times, grabbing “the door handle and holding it as tight as she possibly could so he could not pull her anymore,” the complaint said. Afterward, the victim said John “stopped at a convenient store and said let’s go in and get you a treat” and then “bought her a slushy and he said make sure you drink that before we get there because he did not buy the other kids anything,” according to the complaint.
A fifth victim said during interviews with law enforcement that incidents of sexual assault “happened so many times that she was unsure of a number of times”; the victim was between the ages of 4 and 14 years old when the assaults happened, according to the complaint.
Victims Had Come Forward with Allegations Against ‘Father Figure’ John in 2004 but the Investigation Led Nowhere
“These are just some of many disclosures from multiple victims of a large scale, multi-county investigation,” troopers said. According to court documents, the victims “had all come forward in 2004 but there were never any finding in this investigation.”
The documents also said that John was “a preacher and led a youth ministry” and was either related to or “viewed as a father figure” to the five child victims. One of the victims also said “she knows there were more victims but cannot remember their names” and said “there were at least 13 others,” according to court documents.
According to the complaints filed in Lewis County, additional charges were also filed in Braxton and Harrison counties. John was booked in the Central Regional Jail on Tuesday and is being held on $1.7 million bail. He was also charged with eight felony counts in Nicholas County in September 2024.
Kathy has been charged with principle and display of obscene material to a minor. She was also booked in the Central Regional Jail on Tuesday and is being held on $75,000 bail.
