Suspect in child sex abuse case jailed without bond
NEW PHILADELPHIA (WJER) (Aug. 22, 2022) – The man accused of sexually abusing a toddler will be staying locked up ahead of his trial.
31-year-old Shane Skelly of New Philadelphia remains in the Tuscarawas County Jail after Common Pleas Court Judge Elizabeth Thomakos granted the state’s motion to have him held there without bond due to the seriousness of the allegations against him.
Skelly has pleaded not guilty to a grand jury indictment charging him with gross sexual imposition and endangering children, along with pandering obscenity and sexually-oriented matter involving a minor. The indictment claims those crimes occurred between April of 2020 and the same month last year when the victim was between two and three years old. Skelly is also charged with tampering with evidence for allegedly altering, destroying, or concealing evidence of the crimes knowing they were under investigation.
Skelly’s jury trial is scheduled to begin on October 26th unless the judge postpones the proceedings or he changes his plea before then.