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Katravien Tyrieus Vercher was sentenced to 40 years in prison for preying on three minors under the age of 13 over the course of three years after moving into a family's Waldorf home, the Charles County State's Attorney said.
In March 2023, members of the Charles County Sheriff's Office were called to the home, where there was a report of child sexual abuse from Vercher's victims' mother.
Investigators say that Vercher moved in in 2020, and began targeting his victims - who were 5, 6, and 10 years old when the abuse began - within months of doing so.
In the first incident, Vercher asked the 10-year-old if she wanted to play a game, and she responded yes, at which point he began making sexual advances towards her.
That abuse would continue for three years and prosecutors say that it progressed in nature.
He also established a code phrase to use with the girl when they were around other people so he could indicate he wanted sexual contact.
Vercher's other two minor victims also engaged in sexual acts with him, including one instance when the youngest victims were present at the same time.
One of the victims eventually reported the abuse to their mother, who contacted the police.
"During the course of the investigation, Vercher admitted to making comments about the 10-year-old victim’s appearance and being attracted to what she was wearing," according to the Charles County State's Attorney's Office. "He also admitted to slapping her buttocks."
Vercher was found guilty following a three-day trial of four counts of sexual abuse of a minor and third-degree sexual offense.
At sentencing, Assistant State’s Attorney Alexa Casavecchia asked for 60 years, stating that the “scars are always going to be there” for the victims.
In addition to his prison term, a judge also ordered that Vercher be on supervised probation for five years upon his release. He is also required to register as a Tier 3 Sex Offender for the rest of his life.
Before sentencing Vercher, the judge stated, “It was an abuse of trust what happened to them. This grooming took some time. You abused their trust. You abused the trust of their mother who left them in your care.”
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