Ohio County Magistrate Joe Roxby on Thursday modified the bond conditions of Randy VanDyne, ordering the convicted sex offender to stay at least 100 feet from the members of a Bethlehem family and 200 feet from their residence.
Village police arrested VanDyne, 42, of 4 Forest Park Road, Bethlehem, June 26 on charges of stalking and trespassing. He was arraigned and released from jail after posting $3,000 bond.
Previous bond conditions stated VanDyne should have no contact with the family, but there was no stipulation regarding distance from them or their residence prior to Thursday's hearing in Ohio County Magistrate Court.
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Randy VanDyne appears in Ohio County Magistrate Court Thursday.
According to a police report, on three separate occasions in June VanDyne knocked on the door of a home where man and a woman live with their 17- and 8-year-old daughters. Van Dyne left immediately each time after the adults answered.
The residents contacted Bethlehem police and said they were fearful for their safety and the safety of their daughters. They gave police a description of VanDyne 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." The police report does not specify which woman he was referring to.
When officers 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."
VanDyne's next preliminary hearing was not scheduled, as of Wednesday.
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 old.
