Harrison County Man Faces 20 Felony Counts After Allegedly Exposing Self to School Bus

SALEM, W. Va. — An elderly man was arrested by Doddridge County authorities Monday, after allegedly exposing himself multiple times to a school bus in Harrison County.

Deputies with the Doddridge County Sheriff’s Department allege William R. Cottrill, 73, of Salem, stood naked in the front doorway of his house on West Main Street as a Doddridge County School bus with high school and middle school students passed by on June 3 and June 8.

According to the criminal complaint, one witness on the bus claimed she saw the defendant standing in front of the screen door, masturbating as they went by.

Cottrill’s defense is that he sleeps naked and stands in front of the screen door when he gets up and lets his dog use the bathroom outside.

He faces 20 counts of felony distribution and display to a minor of obscene matter and is being held in North Central Regional Jail with bail set at $100,000.