CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A convicted sex offender who pleaded guilty to exposing himself to his stepdaughter's child was sentenced Thursday to up to 30 years in prison in Kanawha Circuit Court.

David Franklin McLaughlin, 57, formerly of St. Albans, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree sexual abuse and one count of sexual assault by a parent, guardian or custodian. According to the West Virginia Sex Offender Registry, McLaughlin was convicted of two counts of third-degree sexual abuse in 1996.

Defense attorney Teresa Chisolm said that McLaughlin was remorseful over what had happened, but that he did not admit to doing what he was accused of. He accepted a plea deal that allowed him face a lesser sentence without accepting guilt, she said.

McLaughlin said he lied to police because he thought they would help him. The police told him that he would go to a mental hospital for two years, then into a pilot program, he said.

"I made up a story in my mind that I thought this child was going through," he said.

The victim's grandmother asked Kanawha Circuit Judge Charles King to impose the maximum sentence. She said that her granddaughter's version of events had never wavered, and that a young child could not make up the explicit details of McLaughlin's case.

"May you never see the daylight again," she told McLaughlin. "Denying it is not going to help."

Kanawha County assistant prosecutor Maryclaire Akers said that McLaughlin was forced to admit his guilt after he confessed in front of a television camera.

"Mr. McLaughlin refuses to take responsibility for his actions," she said. "He deserves consecutive sentences."

King ran McLaughlin's sentences one after the other, meaning he could spend up to 30 years in prison.

Reach Andrew Clevenger at acleven...@wvgazette.com

or 304-348-1723.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A convicted sex offender who pleaded guilty to exposing himself to his stepdaughter's child was sentenced Thursday to up to 30 years in prison in Kanawha Circuit Court.

David Franklin McLaughlin, 57, formerly of St. Albans, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree sexual abuse and one count of sexual assault by a parent, guardian or custodian. According to the West Virginia Sex Offender Registry, McLaughlin was convicted of two counts of third-degree sexual abuse in 1996.

Defense attorney Teresa Chisolm said that McLaughlin was remorseful over what had happened, but that he did not admit to doing what he was accused of. He accepted a plea deal that allowed him face a lesser sentence without accepting guilt, she said.

McLaughlin said he lied to police because he thought they would help him. The police told him that he would go to a mental hospital for two years, then into a pilot program, he said.

"I made up a story in my mind that I thought this child was going through," he said.

The victim's grandmother asked Kanawha Circuit Judge Charles King to impose the maximum sentence. She said that her granddaughter's version of events had never wavered, and that a young child could not make up the explicit details of McLaughlin's case.

"May you never see the daylight again," she told McLaughlin. "Denying it is not going to help."

Kanawha County assistant prosecutor Maryclaire Akers said that McLaughlin was forced to admit his guilt after he confessed in front of a television camera.

"Mr. McLaughlin refuses to take responsibility for his actions," she said. "He deserves consecutive sentences."

King ran McLaughlin's sentences one after the other, meaning he could spend up to 30 years in prison.

Reach Andrew Clevenger at acleven...@wvgazette.com

or 304-348-1723.