Victim of trust: Parents recount horror of child's sexual abuse

July 29--PRINCETON -- Most birthday dreams are for cake, toys and ice cream. But for one Mercer County child, the wish has been that the man who sexually abused her would go to jail.

The first step in that process came last week when Rick Cutlip Sr., 60, of Princeton, pleaded no contest to one count of sexual abuse by a parent, guardian, custodian or person in a position of trust to a child, and two counts of third degree sexual intrusion with a child less than 16 years old.

In a packed courtroom last Wednesday, Cutlip entered his plea in Mercer County Circuit Court before Judge Mark Wills.

His child victim -- 4 years old at the time of the crime -- was not in the courtroom.

Her parents were.

----The nightmare-to-be for the family started innocently enough when the child was playing on a recliner.

"I said, 'Get your butt up here,' " the child's mother recalled during an interview after the plea hearing. The child then disclosed to her mother that the perpetrator had told her that her "butt was pretty."

Alarm bells went off, and later the mom asked her daughter about when the comment was made.

The child told her mother it was "a secret."

"I said, 'Mommy is your best friend who you can tell secrets to,' " the mother remembered.

Soon, the sweet-faced innocent was sharing the secrets of the hot tub.

----Cutlip was indicted by a Mercer County grand jury on 16 counts including charges of sexual assault first degree; sexual abuse first degree; sexual abuse by a parent, guardian, custodian or person in a position of trust to a child; and incest.

The case was initiated on Jan. 11, 2016, when the parents of the child brought their daughter to the Princeton detachment of the West Virginia State Police after the alleged victim disclosed details of the abuse.

At last week's hearing, when Wills asked prosecutors what evidence would be presented at trial, Mercer County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Malorie Morgan said the child said the suspect "touched her on her 'front butt' while they were in a pool (hot tub) together."

The victim also said he "put his finger in her front butt and it hurt," Morgan said.

Morgan testified the child said they took their clothes off in the hot tub, and "what they did in the pool was a secret."

Cutlip's plea deal to the three felony charges gives him a possibility of two to 10 years in prison.

The parents of the victim are not happy with the deal, but they accepted it to shield their daughter from further trauma.

A psychologist told the family it would be detrimental to the child if she testified at trial.

"She is doing remarkably well," her father said. "But she is so terrified of him. She gets so worked up when he (the perpetrator) is mentioned, she cries and can't breathe."

During last week's hearing, Cutlip's defense attorney made frequent insinuations of his client's innocence.

However when quizzed about his plea by Judge Wills, Cutlip acknowledged a jury could put him behind bars.

"If I went to trial I could be found guilty," Cutlip told the judge. "I have thought about this.

"I did not want to bring that little girl up here to be subjected to this," the defendant added.

----Cutlip's proclaimed words of protection for the victim were seen as vinegar to many in the courtroom.

"I was trying not to cry," her father said.

"I felt he had no right to talk about her like that," her mother added.

Despite the hardships of the court proceedings, the victim's parent's said their daughter "is much stronger than we are."

"Every birthday her wish is that he goes to jail," her mom said. "At Christmas, she said she was going to ask Santa Claus to put him in jail because we couldn't. But she said she is not mad at us because she knew we were trying."

Before her daughter's disclosure, her mother said he had no idea of the abuse.

"He treated her so well," she said, her voice trailing off as she wiped away tears. "Always listen to your kids."

The parents said the road to justice has been long and hard, but emphasized that they won't give up.

"Don't think that it can't happen to you," the mother said. "It can, and it doesn't always have to be a stranger. For us, he was one who was supposed to help protect her."

-- Contact Samantha Perry at sperry@bdtonline.com

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