Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

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February 7, 2012

One charged with child abuse

By KATE COIL Bluefield Daily Telegraph

FALLS MILLS, Va. — A Tazewell County man is incarcerated after being arrested on felony child abuse charges, the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday.

Richard Riffe, 39, of Falls Mills, Va., was charged with felony child abuse and neglect for “willfully causing a child to be tortured, tormented, beaten or cruelly treated,” according to a statement released by the sheriff’s office.

Tazewell County Commonwealth’s Attorney Dennis Lee said the incident happened in Tazewell County and was reported to the Department of Social Services and law enforcement by concerned officials with the Tazewell County School system.

“This charge involved a parent or custodian who beats or cruelly treats a child in their care,” Lee said. “It carries up to five years in prison. The language of the statute is very broad and includes a lot of things. It doesn’t necessarily mean that all of those things took place. Beaten or cruelly treated is the main language we use in this charge.”

Lee said Riffe was arrested last Thursday. According to Lee, the continued investigation into the incident by the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office and Virginia Department of Social Services could lead to more charges against Riffe and possibly other adults involved in the case.

“This incident is only related to one reported victim,” Lee said. “The investigation is continuing and there possibly could be more charges, not necessarily for other victims. There could be more charges against Mr. Riffe and possibly other people could be charged in relation to this case. We anticipated Mr. Riffe to be arraigned tomorrow on the charge he is now facing. The arraignment will be before Juvenile and Domestic Relations court since it involves a child.”

Lee commended the Tazewell County School system for their role in bringing the incident to the attention of authorities.

“It was initially reported to the Department of Social Services by the Tazewell County School system,” Lee said. “They did their duty on that diligently, reporting their suspicion of child abuse. The school system is to be commended for the way they handled this case and doing their duty to keep this child safe.”

According to Major Harold Heatley, chief deputy of the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Department, the child involved in the case has been taken into state custody.

“The victim was removed by social services and put into a foster home,” Heatley said. “There are more possible pending charges as the investigation continues. So far, Mr. Riffe is the only person who has been charged. It’s a very confidential issue because of the juvenile involved. We are very limited on things that we can release. I think everybody would agree the primary concern here is the child and protecting the child.”

Heatley said those like school officials and doctors who are required by law to report suspicions of abuse are often essential in criminal investigations into child abuse.

“It’s extremely important that we receive reports like this from the school system,” he said. “For us, as required reporters — be it a doctor, teacher or any required reporter — are very important. Required reporters are people who have a moral and legal obligation to report any knowledge of abuse. We don’t always hear about cases like this unless a required reporter tells us about it. Often times, children are afraid to come and say something about it. That is why we have so many required reporters about it. It is important that people come and let us know if there is any suspicion of child abuse. We would rather someone report an incident and we investigate it to find nothing was going on, than for a child to be abused and us not know about it.”

Riffe is presently being held at the Southwest Regional Jail Authority in Tazewell. Lee said a bond hearing for Riffe could possibly be set later this week.

— Contact Kate Coil at

kcoil@bdtonline.com

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