FAYETTE COUNTY, W.Va. – The Department of Justice said a Fayetteville man and former Fayette County Law Enforcement Officer was sentenced to 25 years in prison for child sex trafficking and obstruction crimes.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said 58-year-old Larry Allen Clay Jr., was sentenced today, and in addition to the 25 years, Clay’s sentence will be followed by 10 years of supervised release, and he will be ordered to pay $80,000 in restitution for sex trafficking a 17-year-old underage girl and obstructing the investigation.
Clay also has to register as a sex offender, the DOJ said.
According to the DOJ, Clay was the Chief of Police for the Gauley Bridge Police Department and a deputy with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department when the offenses happened. Evidence presented at trial proved that Clay paid a total of $100 to co-defendant Kristen Naylor-Legg to have sex with her 17-year-old underage female relative two separate times in June 2020, the DOJ said.
The DOJ said that during both incidents, Clay wore his police uniform, duty belt, and service weapon.
The first incident happened at or near Clay’s Gauley Bridge-issued vehicle on a rural road in Fayette County, the DOJ said. The second incident took place inside the former Gauley Bridge High School in a basement office that the DOJ said was reserved for the Gauley Bridge Police Department. The DOJ said investigators retrieved DNA evidence from a washcloth discarded in the office.
After the female victim reported both incidents, Clay went to persuade Naylor-Legg to lie to law enforcement about what happened, the DOJ said. According to the DOJ, Clay also asked a law enforcement officer if his criminal conduct could be covered up.
After four days of trial, a federal jury found Clay guilty in April 2023 of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of a minor via coercion, sex trafficking of a minor via coercion, and two counts of obstruction of justice.
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