Webster County is located in central West Virginia and has a population of approximately 8,700.  Its county seat is Webster Springs. At least one case of sex trafficking activity has occurred within the county, and the investigation of a man accused of exchanging money for the sexual abuse of minors. In March, 2020, a Webster County man was arrested after a minor disclosed evidence of sexual abuse after becoming pregnant with his child, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Sutton detachment of the West Virginia State Police. The man was a substitute teacher for Webster County Schools who would transport a 16 year-old girl from her family’s home to high school and back. The man admitted to “having a sexual relationship with the minor female” (i.e., sexual abuse) for almost 18 months, and that he would give the child “money she requested in the form of cash.” The man claimed during a police interview that the minor would blackmail him if he didn’t pay, and that he would meet with her to deliver money “adding up to thousands of dollars,” according to the criminal complaint. The man admitted sexually abusing the minor approximately 25-50 times, and said that the girl asked him for $6,500 for an abortion. The victim alleged that the man took many nude photos of her (i.e., the production of child sexual abuse images, or CSAM), and that she kept track of all of their sexual encounters. The man was charged with five counts of sexual abuse of a minor by person of trust.