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Haysi, Va., man sentenced to 240 years in prison on sex charges

By Daniel Gilbert
Published: December 03, 2009

On one hand, Cecil Ray Owens saved the state the expense of a trial and spared his alleged victims the hardship of testifying by pleading no

contest to aggravated sexual battery and indecent liberties.
On the other hand, “there was nothing worse he could have done to [the victims] except murder them,” argued Dickenson County Commonwealth’s

Attorney Joe Short.
On Tuesday, Dickenson County Circuit Court Judge Henry Vanover sentenced Owens to the maximum penalty for each charge – a total of 240 years

in prison.
Owens, 53, of Haysi, Va., is currently serving a separate 12-year sentence after his conviction on related charges in Wythe County in July.
Owens was indicted in Dickenson County in June on eight counts each of aggravated sexual battery and indecent liberties with a child. He

also was charged with sodomy and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, but prosecutors dropped those charges in September, when Owens

pleaded no contest without an agreement with the state.
His plea does not expressly admit guilt but acknowledges that the evidence is sufficient to convict him and is treated as a guilty plea.
Owens’ defense attorney, James Edward Monahan, did not return a phone message seeking comment Wednesday.
Short said Wednesday that Owens’ offenses took place over a “long period of time” against three boys – some of whom are now adults.
Vanover also imposed an additional three years per conviction – a total of 48 years – that he suspended, and which will hang over Owens’

head in the event that he is released.
“Even if he gets geriatric parole, he’s under the thumb of the legal system,” Short said.