Convicted deputy back in court Friday

A former Pocahontas County sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison last November will ask a judge Friday to reconsider his sentence.

A hearing is scheduled for 10:45 in Marlinton in the case of Bradley Totten.

Totten, of Hillsboro, was indicted twice on a total of 66 counts claiming that from 1995 to 2010 he would arrest women and teenagers and then force them to have sex with him. There were believed to have been at least 20 victims. Totten eventually pleaded guilty to a single count of sexual abuse involving a 17-year-old girl. There were multiple assaults of the same victim.

“You’re going to start serving time today,” Pocahontas County Circuit Judge Jim Rowe told Totten during his sentencing last Nov. 8.

Under his original sentence, Totten would have to serve at least 10 years before there’s a chance for parole.

Judge Rowe will preside over Friday’s hearing.