Dennis James Maze

ELIZABETH — A Wirt County man was arrested this week on sexually related charges involving children.

Between January of 2019 and December of 2021, Dennis James Maze, of Elizabeth, allegedly engaged in sexual intercourse, sexual assault, and sexual abuse of five juveniles under the age of 12 years old in Wirt County, West Virginia, according to a press release from the West Virginia State Police Crimes Against Children Unit.

On Wednesday, the unit obtained a search warrant for Maze’s Elizabeth residence in effort to locate evidence of the charges, according to the press release. The unit obtained a total of 43 arrest warrants for Maze in Wirt County.

In total, Maze was arrested on 14 counts of sexual abuse in the first degree, six counts of sexual assault in the first degree, 20 counts of sexual abuse by a person in a position of trust, two counts of distribution and display to a minor obscene material and one count of use of a minor to produce obscene matter or assist in doing sexually explicit conduct, according to the press release.

He was arraigned before Wirt County Magistrate Judge Janey Wigal and a cash-only bond was set at $1 million. Maze failed to post his bond and was later transported to North Central Regional Jail where he is being held.

Wood County Sheriff’s Department, Parkersburg Police Department, and the Parkersburg Narcotics Task Force all assisted with the execution of the search warrant and arrest of Maze.

If anyone has information regarding this investigation they are asked to contact the West Virginia State Police in Wood or Wirt counties.

As of presstime, it could not be determined if a preliminary hearing has been set yet.

The press release said all defendants are presumed innocent until proven otherwise in a court of law.