Frederick man pleads guilty to abusing martial arts student
Aug. 18—A Frederick man pleaded guilty Monday to abusing a former martial arts student years ago.
Charles Calvin Stover, 60, entered guilty pleas through a plea agreement in Frederick County Circuit Court to two counts of second-degree child abuse, according to the Frederick County State's Attorney's Office. He originally faced nine counts of child abuse.
The victim, now an adult, divulged years of abuse by Stover between 1998 and 2000, according to charging documents. Frederick Police Department's investigative division was notified April 29, 2020, after receiving a voicemail from the woman, charging documents show, then the Frederick County Sheriff's Office was brought on board.
A grand jury indicted Stover Oct. 23, 2020. He's been out since a judge released him on his own recognizance Oct. 28, online court records show. His defense attorneys could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
The victim told police she and Stover had hundreds of sexual encounters. He was an instructor, and she was a pupil at In Ji Yong Taekwondo Academy, which closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to police. The studio, owned and operated by Stover, offered classes in Frederick and Thurmont, a Frederick County Sheriff's Office release from October read.
The victim came to know Stover around the age of 12, charging documents state, and sexual contact by Stover began when she was 16 and he was 37.
The state's attorney's office is seeking a sentence of 30 years, suspending all but five years of active incarceration, according to spokesman Will Cockey. The state's attorney's office wants Stover's jail time to be followed by five years of supervised probation under a program specially designed for sex offenders, which includes internet monitoring and polygraph testing. Special conditions of the sentence the state hopes the judge will set would include no contact with the victim, no contact with minor children, submit to a psychosexual evaluation, submit to mental health treatment as required and follow any and all other recommendations of the probation agent. Stover would also be required to register as a sex offender based on these offenses.
Sentencing is set for Feb. 1, 2022.
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