Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 18, 1994 TAG: 9406210117
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Samuel Wilson Carter of Rocky Mount had earlier pleaded no contest to four counts of sodomy and eight counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
The charges involved consensual oral sex with four boys - ages 12 to 16 - on numerous occasions from May to September of last year.
Testimony at an earlier hearing showed that Wilson would meet the boys in the downtown area or at Highland and Wasena parks and give them food, sodas and money.
He would then drive them to Sylvan Road on Mill Mountain, where the offenses occurred in his car. Wilson usually gave the boys $5 before they rode their bicycles back down the mountain after the encounters.
Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Wanda DeWease said Carter picked victims from disadvantaged families and with emotional problems.
"He seized upon that and he exploited it," DeWease said.
Carter testified that at the time the offenses occurred, he thought he was doing a favor for the boys. "They didn't have anything, and they enjoyed having the food and the drinks," he said.
It is only now that Carter realizes the psychological damage his actions had on the boys, defense attorney Sam Garrison said. "This is not an inherently predatory person," Garrison said. "He's a good man who did wrong."
DeWease had asked that Carter be sentenced to 44 years in prison. In opting for a lesser sentence, Judge Diane Strickland said she was taking into consideration his lack of a prior criminal record and the fact that he did not use force against his victims.
The offenses came to light after a Roanoke police officer stopped Carter's car and questioned one of the boys.
by CNB