Incident
A 43-year-old woman has been jailed for a long time as she ordered to convicted for 155 years for the wicked and horrific physical assault on a young girl in a bathtub.
Elizabeth Haway, of Princeton, West Virginia, was confined to up to 155 years in jail Wednesday.
In December 2019, Haway pleaded guilty to first-degree sensual assault, first-degree physical abuse, and intimate abuse by a parent, guardian, custodian or person of trust.
Investigation
The Mercer County Sheriff’s Office started examining the case in April 2018 after Detective-Sgt. Steve Sommers answered to a cyber tip about vulgarness that was distributed through Facebook messenger.
Sommers also reported seeing a video recording of an adult female with a child engaging in genital acts.
“I figured the age of the child to be between 5 and 6 years of age,”
Sommers also mentioned that the bathtub had clear cracking of the cornice at the wall and bathtub and that the adult female had a tattoo on her finger of a smiley face.
Sommers later examined Haway’s house and found the bathroom in her home very related to the one in the abuse videos.
Punishment
Prosecuting Attorney George Sitle requested the court impose the maximum sentencing for Haway, the news outlet reported.
Haway was sentenced to 25 to 100 years for both counts of copulation assault, both terms running concurrently.
She must also serve between five and 25 years for the counts of courtship abuse as well as an additional 35 years for abuse crimes.
Since Haway needs to complete a minimum of 45 years, the earliest she would be fit for parole is when she’s nearly 88 years old.
Haway must register as a courtship offender with the West Virginia State Police and be under surveillance if she is ever released.