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RIPLEY - The stepfather of a 7-year-old charged with arson Wednesday has been arrested on a count of child abuse, the Jackson County Sheriff's Department announced.
The department announced Wednesday on its Facebook page that the child was charged with first-degree arson after the family home was set on fire "with the parents asleep inside."
Less than 24 hours later, the department made another post saying Aaron Hufford, 38, of Sandyville was arrested and charged with abuse of the child.
The investigation by sheriff's detectives is continuing, the post said.
Information about Hufford's arraignment was not immediately available Thursday afternoon.
The fire happened just after 11 a.m. Wednesday on Providence Road, east of Silverton and north of Ripley, said Robbie Bailey, chief deputy for the West Virginia State Fire Marshal's Office.
The office investigated and determined the fire was incendiary, meaning it was set, he said.
Bailey referred other questions to the Jackson County Sheriff's Department.
According to the sheriff's department's Wednesday post, two people sustained minor burns in the fire, "but everyone made it out of the home alive."
Calls to the sheriff's office were not returned Thursday. The department said in both its Facebook posts that no further information would be released, citing the sensitive nature of the case.