Dwain Sponseller, front left, walks out of Wood County Magistrate Court with attorney Bill Merriman, right, after being arraigned by Magistrate Jody Purkey. (File photo)

PARKERSBURG – A former middle school basketball coach and Parkersburg South High School teacher entered a guilty plea this week to two counts of sexual abuse while still maintaining his innocence.

According to court documents, Dwain Lee Sponseller, 42, changed his plea Monday before Wood County Circuit Court Judge J.D. Beane. He pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree sexual abuse by way of an Alford plea, in which a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence to convict.

He faces one to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 on each charge when he’s sentenced on July 24. He will also have to register as a sex offender for life and could be subject to up to 50 years of supervised release.

Sponseller was indicted in September 2024 on nine counts of first-degree sexual abuse and seven counts of sexual abuse by a parent, guardian or custodian. His plea was to one of the original sexual abuse counts and a second count that was a lesser included offense to one of the sexual abuse by a parent, guardian or custodian charges.

Sponseller was arrested by Parkersburg Police in March 2024 after it was reported that he had been observed inside Van Devender Middle School, when he was not permitted to be there, in the company of a juvenile. He was arrested after two juveniles were interviewed, police said. Some of the charges stemmed from additional victims identified during the course of the investigation, prosecutors said.

Assistant Wood County Prosecutor Russell Skogstad said Tuesday that the agreement accomplished the goals of securing a conviction, making sure the defendant was not in a position to hurt other children and sparing the victims the potentially traumatic experience of testifying.

“These are the least predictable types of cases that there are,” he said.

Skogstad said he spoke to victims, their families and the lead investigator about the agreement.

“They were on board with it,” he said.

Skogstad added that supervised release means a person must meet conditions imposed by the court after their sentence or face the possibility of additional prison time.

Sponseller’s attorney, Bill Merriman, did not immediately return a call seeking comment Tuesday.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.