Man accused of masturbating in play area was reportedly there with 3-year-old
By Kate White
Staff writer
Police say a man accused of showing a 5-year-old girl a pornographic video and masturbating in front of her in the play area of the Charleston Town Center on Monday was able to spend hours in the play area without suspicion because he was with a 3-year-old child.
Victor Ramonte Coltey, 53, is charged with use of obscene matter with intent to seduce a minor, a felony. Police say he tried to get the 5-year-old girl to perform oral sex on him and ejaculated in front of the girl.
Coltey and his wife Elizabeth have guardianship of the 3-year-old girl police say Coltey was with at the mall on Monday. The child is currently with a relative.
Charleston police Lt. Steve Cooper said Friday that after new information has come to light, police are investigating Coltey further.
"We are investigating Mr. Coltey's conduct with any children that he may have ever had contact with. We have some new information that we are analyzing as we speak," Cooper said. "The child Mr. Coltey has guardianship over was present during the incident and interacting with the victim as it occurred."
In 2013, Coltey, along with his wife Elizabeth, was named guardian of the three-year-old girl, who was then 20 months old, according to an order signed by Kanawha County Family Court Judge Mark Snyder.
At the time he was named guardian of the girl, Coltey had previously been charged with indecent exposure, a misdemeanor. Coltey was placed on two years' probation and a 90-day jail sentence was suspended after former Kanawha Circuit Judge John Hey wrote that he was unlikely to re-offend.
Coltey was also previously charged with obstructing an officer in August 2004, according to records in Kanawha Magistrate Court.
The relationship between the Colteys and the girl they have guardianship over isn't clear. The order signed by Snyder stated the child's parents weren't fit to care for the girl at the time.
Cooper said Tuesday during a press conference that Coltey admitted to the allegations.
"Once he was confronted with the information and was made aware that we had video, he did confess to the crime," Cooper said.
Coltey remains in South Central Regional Jail on $200,000 cash-only bail.
Reach Kate White at
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