Hancock man charged with sex assault of girl

A 37-year-old Hancock man has been charged with First Degree Sexual Assault, a felony, for allegedly engaging in sexual contact with an 11-year-old girl in Berkeley Springs.

Dale Anthony Shoop is in the Eastern Regional Jail, Martinsburg, in lieu of $75,000 bond set by Magistrate Greg Miller on July 25.

Shoop is listed as a child sex offender on the Maryland Sex Offender Registry due to an indecent assault charge. His latest address was given as 18D Main Street, Hancock, Md.

The sexual assault charge was brought by Sgt. C.A. Mahood of West Virginia State Police after investigating events at the Berkeley Springs Motel on Wednesday morning, July 14.

The girl told police that she was staying at the motel with her father and his friend, Dale Shoop. Her father went to a local store to pick up snacks, leaving the girl alone with Shoop, according to the criminal complaint filed in Magistrate Court.

Shoop allegedly shut the door and asked the victim to pull down her pants so he could see her underwear, according to the description of the incident given by police.

When she had done this, Shoop pulled her underwear down, told her to turn around and touched her inappropriately, according to the criminal complaint.

Shoop then told her to pull her pants back up, that her father was returning, and that she shouldn't tell anyone what had happened, according to police.

On July 18, the girl and her mother reported the alleged incident to State Police. On July 23, a further interview was conducted by a Child Protective Service Worker.

The girl's father confirmed that he did leave to get snacks that morning. He said Shoop later asked when he would be bringing his daughter back and showed interest in seeing her again, according to the criminal complaint.