This file photo from last April shows people packing the hallway of the third floor of the Mason County Courthouse just prior to being seated inside the circuit court courtroom for the preliminary hearing of Cameron Moffett, former principal at Point Pleasant Intermediate School.
POINT PLEASANT — A former principal at Point Pleasant Intermediate school has entered a plea of not guilty to an indictment charging him with child abuse causing risk of injury.
Cameron C. Moffett, 46, Point Pleasant, appeared before Judge David W. Nibert this week in Mason County Circuit Court to enter his not guilty plea after a grand jury indicted him earlier this month. Moffett appeared with Attorney Jim Lees and requested a bench trial, as opposed to a jury trial.
A bench trial is a legal proceeding where a case is tried in front of and solely by a judge rather than a jury. Bench trials can be requested in both criminal and civil cases. A pretrial hearing for Moffett has been set for 11:30 a.m., June 17 with the trial set to go at 9:30 a.m., July 23 in Mason County Circuit Court.
As previously reported, Moffett’s case divided the community in 2012 when a video taken from a school bus showed Moffett allegedly attempting to remove a then 11-year old male student from the bus. Moffett detractors said he used excessive force, Moffett supporters said he handled the situation correctly given the circumstance and a student Moffett’s attorney described as “unruly” at his preliminary hearing.
Moffett remains free on bond. He is employed by the Mason County Board of Education, not in a classroom but as a director/coordinator (supportive services), according to the West Virginia Department of Education’s listing of staff and employees for Mason County Schools.
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