An assistant Boy Scout troop leader accused of using social media to solicit explicit material from three members of his Kanawha County troop was arrested Thursday.
Kevin Michael Rogier, 39, of Sissonville, was arraigned Thursday on three felony counts of soliciting a minor using a computer. Rogier is accused of sending explicit photos and/or videos of himself to three 15-year-old boys and asking them to send him explicit photos or videos, according to a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha Magistrate Court. The offenses occurred on or about April 2, 2016.
The Boy Scouts Buckskin Council in Charleston issued a complaint Tuesday to the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office. Rogier admitted to sending and requesting the aforementioned photos and videos during an interview at the sheriff's office Wednesday, according to the complaint.
Senior Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Maryclaire Akers requested during Thursday's arraignment that Rogier be held on a $100,000 bail with conditions that he be under home confinement and have no contact with minors, including his own children, if he were to be released on bail. Akers said Rogier had no prior criminal history, but that the serious charges, multiple victims and confession made the requested bail amount reasonable.
"These aren't children that he's just solicited over the Internet that he has no relationship with," Akers said. "These are children who he is the Boy Scout troop leader of. These are children that he knows. These are children whose families he knows and who have entrusted their children with him."
Tim Carrico, Rogier's defense attorney, said that the charges do not indicate any physical contact between Rogier and the victims and that $100,000 was "very substantial." Carrico asked that Rogier's bail be reduced to $50,000.
Akers' rebuttal was that, while the charges do not involve physical contact, this is still a "contact case" because of Rogier's real life connections with the victims.
Kanawha Magistrate Pete Lopez set Rogier's bail at $50,000 property or 10 percent cash, with Akers' requested conditions. Rogier is being held at South Central Regional Jail.
A preliminary hearing will be held at 1:30 p.m. June 6.
Reach Jared Casto at jared.casto@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4832 or follow @JaredCasto on Twitter.