Ex-Police Chief Sentenced For Child Sex Trafficking, Prosecutors Call Victim ‘A Hero’

Larry Allen Clay Jr. of Fayetteville, 58, was the Gauley Bridge Chief of Police and a deputy with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department when he offered to pay a financially desperate co-defendant, Kristen Naylor-Legg, to have sex with her 17-year old step-daughter in June of 2020. This week he was sentenced to a quarter of a century in prison for the crimes.

A former Fayette County law enforcement officer has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for child sex trafficking and obstruction.

Larry Allen Clay Jr. of Fayetteville, 58, was the Gauley Bridge Chief of Police and a deputy with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department when he offered to pay a financially desperate co-defendant, Kristen Naylor-Legg, to have sex with her 17-year-old stepdaughter in June of 2020. 

He was arrested in 2021 and convicted last year, but made multiple attempts to delay Thursday’s sentencing.

An emotional U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia, Will Thompson, said the victim was unusually strong throughout the investigation and trial.

This was, you know, a teenager, a little girl, who was basically sold for $100 to a law enforcement officer who was wearing his uniform, actually had his gun belt strapped on to him while he was performing sexual acts upon her” Thompson said.

Thompson also said poverty may have been a factor – there’s evidence the money Clay paid was used to buy food. 

In addition to his sentence, Clay has been ordered to pay $80,000 in restitution, much of it earmarked for the victim’s educational pursuits. 

According to her statement in court, she had a scholarship for a nursing degree when the crimes derailed her plans. She intends to pursue a nursing degree, to follow in the career of her late mother.  

“The victim did what she was supposed to do. She was 17 years old. She didn’t have any family,” Thompson said. “She is a pillar of strength. I mean, she had nobody. Her step mom was the one selling her. Where she put her head on a pillow that night, was the person who was then turning around and selling her. The fact that she had that strength to come forward is amazing.” 

He added that federal investigations take some time. But he encouraged any victims in similar situations – including those in which the perpetrator is not involved in law enforcement – to reach out, to report the crime, and to be patient with the process.

“Report it. You know, we can’t do anything about things we don’t know about,” he said.

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