BETHLEHEM - Convicted sex offender Randy Scott VanDyne will appear in Ohio County Magistrate Court next week on charges of stalking and trespassing after he allegedly harassed a Bethlehem family and their two juvenile daughters.
Village police arrested VanDyne, 42, of 4 Forest Park Road, Bethlehem on June 26 on charges of stalking and trespassing. He was arraigned and released from jail after posting $3,000 bond.
He is scheduled to appear before Ohio County Magistrate Joe Roxby during a preliminary hearing at 9 a.m. Thursday.
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RANDY VANDYNE
According to the criminal complaint against VanDyne, he allegedly knocked on the door to a Bethlehem residence three times during June. The first time, VanDyne reportedly told the woman who answered the door, "Wrong house." He then reportedly told her husband, "Wrong house again," when he answered VanDyne's knocking at the door about two weeks later. The third time, VanDyne allegedly knocked on the door and told the man who answered he did not know who he was looking for before leaving the area.
The residents contacted Bethlehem police and said they were fearful for their safety and the safety of their 8- and 17-year-old daughters. They gave a description of the man and later said they discovered his photo on the West Virginia State Police sexual offender registry.
When officers spoke with VanDyne later that day and asked what he was doing at that residence, he reportedly responded, "I think that woman wants me."
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The police report does not specify which woman he was referring to.
When police told VanDyne the residents did not want him near their home or a nearby playground, VanDyne reportedly said, "I was only trying to serve God."
According to the sex offender registry, VanDyne served nine months in prison after being convicted of first-degree sexual abuse in 1991. The victim in that crime was a female acquaintance between 13 and 17 years of age.
