A judge didn't have to hear much about sexual abuse allegations that date back 17 years before denying a Charleston man's request Wednesday for a lower bond.
Michael Parrell III, 41, is accused of sexually abusing five children who lived in his West Side neighborhood. He was arrested last June after a boy came forward with abuse allegations and has remained in jail since on a $150,000 cash-only bond.
In November, a Kanawha County grand jury indicted Parrell on 47 counts of sexual abuse by a parent, guardian or custodian, first-degree sexual assault and distribution and displaying obscene matter to a minor.
On Wednesday, Parrell appeared in court in shackles. He smiled and shrugged when the judge denied the request from his attorney, senior deputy Kanawha public defender Richard Holicker, to allow Parrell to await trial on home confinement. A trial is scheduled for April.
Parrell could've lived with his aunt on home confinement, Holicker said. No children would have been around him and he wouldn't be staying in the West Side neighborhood where his accusers live.
Last June, when Parrell was living on Beech Avenue, he allegedly asked a 10-year-old boy to play "truth or dare," according to a criminal complaint police filed at the time. The boy was dared to put peanut butter on his body and allow Parrell's dog to lick it off, the criminal complaint states. The boy refused to accept the dare and was forced to remove his clothing and perform sex acts, including one on another boy, according to the complaint.
Police were called to Parrell's house the next day, on June 19, according to an affidavit written by police in order to obtain a search warrant. The 10-year-old boy's mother had called 911 and reported the alleged incident.
When police arrived, several individuals were surrounding Parrell's home, the affidavit states. The victim's mother was "yelling that Michael Parrell had raped her boy," the application for the warrant states.
The boy was taken to Charleston Area Medical Center's Women and Children's Hospital, where he told a children's advocate what had allegedly happened. The boy gave a detailed account and said he watched pornographic videos on Parrell's Xbox gaming system, the criminal complaint states.
Police searched Parrell's home and allegedly found items that confirmed the boy's story.
Items confiscated from Parrell's home, according to court documents, also include pink and white Disney-themed child-size underwear, another pair of children's underwear, jean shorts, several phones and hard drives, two tablets, an Xbox and two sex toys, among other items.
While at the home, police wrote in the affidavit, Parrell was questioned about a separate ongoing investigation into sexual abuse allegations.
The indictment includes allegations made against Parrell by an adult woman who was a juvenile when she was allegedly abused by Parrell.
"There are multiple victims, over a long period of time in a community," said assistant Kanawha Prosecutor Maryclaire Akers.
She asked Kanawha Circuit Judge Charles King to keep the bond amount in place despite Parrell not having a criminal history.
The charges accuse Parrell of abusing five children between the ages of 10 and 15, according to Akers.
"Some of them could've been younger when the abuse started," she said.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.