MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A former resident of the South Park neighborhood has been sentenced for multiple instances of sexual abuse.
Austin Rempel, 34, of Morgantown, was sentenced to two consecutive terms of 1 to 5 years in prison for separate instances of first-degree sexual abuse and a year with time served for sexually motivated battery. Monongalia County Circuit Court Judge Paul Gwaltney issued the sentence on Monday after a no-contest plea deal was reached with county prosecutors and Rempel’s attorney in March.
Rempel was originally indicted by a Monongalia County Circuit Court grand jury in January 2022 for an alleged second-degree sexual assault in July 2016. According to the original criminal complaint, Rempel allegedly forcibly shoved his hand up the victim’s dress and touched her inappropriately against her will. He also allegedly took a photo of himself and added his contact information to her phone without her knowledge, evidence that was later presented to detectives prior to charges being formally issued.
Rempel was arrested in Parkersburg in August 2022 after a capias warrant was issued for failing to appear in court in July of that year. Rempel was later charged on multiple counts of sexual abuse after investigators discovered up to six women who reported to have been abused by Rempel, with incidents allegedly going all the way back to November 2009. The no-contest plea was reached as part of an agreement with prosecutors to not pursue further criminal charges related to three of the victims, as well as the dismissal of one county for non-consensual disclosure or threat of disclosure of private images, which he was charged with in February 2022.
As part of the plea agreement, Rempel will serve out the rest of his one-year sentence for sexually motivated battery at North Central Regional Jail and will serve his sentences for first-degree sexual abuse at West Virginia State Penitentiary with a chance at parole after two years. Rempel would also serve 30 years of extended supervision if he is granted parole and would be sent back to prison for the remainder of his sentence for any instance of a parole violation.
Rempel is also required to be registered as a sex offender for life as part of the plea.
Of the six women who were known victims of Rempel, three of them offered victim impact statements via Microsoft Teams as part of the sentencing hearing.