WHEELING - Rape suspect David Maya made his first appearance in an Ohio County court room via a video arraignment late Thursday after police transported him back from Maryland to face charges of sexual assault.
Ohio County Magistrate Harry Radcliffe arraigned Maya, 24, of Elkridge, Md. on four counts of second-degree sexual assault. As of late Friday, he remained in the Northern Regional Jail in lieu of $500,000 bond. Maya is accused of raping a 12-year-old girl near a Wheeling Island playground on June 9.
As of Friday, a preliminary hearing in Ohio County Magistrate Court had not yet been scheduled. Maya had not yet retained an attorney. The magistrate court building was closed when officers returned from Maryland with Maya Thursday night, so he was booked into the Northern Regional Jail in Moundsville. Maya appeared for an arraignment proceeding before Radcliffe via video conference from the jail about 9:30 p.m. Thursday.
Article Photos
DAVID MAYA
Radcliffe forced Maya to surrender his passport and ordered him to remain on home confinement in Ohio County if he posts bond.
According to a police report, the girl and Maya met in an Internet chat room; soon after, they exchanged contact information and began communicating via text message. Maya told the girl he was younger than his actual age, while she claimed she was older.
Maya reportedly traveled to the Belle Island playground at the north end of Wheeling Island to meet the girl. The pair were team members during a type of of hide-and-seek game that included the girl's friends, the report states. Following the game, Maya and the girl reportedly walked to a nearby wooded area where, despite her pleas to stop, he allegedly performed sex acts on her.
The girl ran from the woods crying following the incident.
Law enforcement in Howard County, Md. arrested Maya on June 15 and he has remained incarcerated since.
