Gary Lee Hodges, pictured via Carter County (Ky.) Detention Center
A 72-year-old Montana man will more than likely spend the rest of his days in federal prison for his “extraordinarily disturbing” attempts to sexually enslave young girls in West Virginia.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Gary Lee Hodges called himself “Papaw,” typically used as a name for a grandfather, and tried to become the “patriarch” of an “incest family” through his use of the internet.
Federal authorities said that Hodges, then age 71 and living in Bigfork, Montana, began interacting online with an undercover cop (UCO) on Dec. 13, 2021. Hodges had created a profile on the “FetLife” website and believed he was speaking with the Beckley, W. Va.-based mother of 11-year-old and 13-year-old girls. It didn’t take long for investigators to figure out that “family sexual relations” was what Hodges was looking for, the feds said:
In HODGES’ initial message to the UCO on FetLife he asked if she was looking for a “man to head her family.” The UCO said that she would be interested in that, and later asked what family dynamic he was looking for. She noted that her “cubs” like to play. HODGES responded that he liked “family sexual relations.” He then provided her a phone number and a Kik user name for them to continue the conversation on another platform. On December 21, 2021, the UCO contacted HODGES via text message at the number that he had provided. HODGES asked how old the UCO’s daughters were and if they were “consenting.” The UCO told HODGES that they were 11 and 13 years old and that they would consent. HODGES and the UCO discussed HODGES possibly coming to set up a family with the UCO and her daughters, with him being the head of household. HODGES sent the UCO a number of pictures of himself to show the two girls.
Similar online interactions between Hodges and the undercover cop occurred over the ensuing days, including Christmas Day.
On Dec. 22, 2021, Hodges referred to himself as “dominant” and a “sensualist” with certain “protocols.”
He stated that the “protocols,” which would apply to both the UCO and the daughters, would involve them removing all their clothing when the entered the house, folding the clothing neatly, and kneeling. They would then ring a bell and he would bring them the clothing he wanted them to wear at home. He further stated that he was looking forward to being a father again “along with the sex with all three” of them.
HODGES then described his sexual interests, including oral sex and vaginal intercourse, and indicated that these interests were for the girls as well as the UCO. HODGES stated that the UCO and the two girls would take rotating turns sleeping in his bed each night. He asked the UCO what types of sex the two girls enjoyed. When he learned that the 11 year old was a virgin, he stated that they could “make the younger first experience a shared family moment.” He later asked when the older daughter was “first penetrated,” and when he was told that she was 11 when that happened, he stated, “So the younger should be able to take cock now.” He also told the UCO that he would “usually want to play with both [girls] together with you watching and or participating.”
Then on Christmas Day in 2021, Hodges asked the undercover cop where he could send “you ladies some camisoles and pretty panties.”
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“I want you all to feel pretty and sexy,” he said.
The feds said the defendant sent “numerous pairs of lace panties and silky camisoles for the UCO and both girls.”
Three days later, Hodges began emailing with an individual he thought was a 13-year-old girl.
“He initiated contact by introducing himself as a man who was going to come live with them and be a ‘permanent grandfather of sorts,”” the affidavit said. “He said he wanted to get to know her better and was happy to talk about anything she wanted and answer any questions she might have.”
The defendant, hoping the nonexistent girl liked the lingerie he sent and referring to himself as “Papaw” in notes accompanying the gifts, allegedly requested as follows: “I would like if you did not wear a bra with it so I can enjoy seeing your figure.”
The feds said the defendant also told the undercover cop about undergoing “testosterone augmentation therapy in order to keep up with you all.”
Federal investigators said that at the beginning of 2022 Hodges stated he wanted to “be inside” of the young girls and began discussing how he would travel to West Virginia to repeatedly commit sexual abuse.
On January 5, 2022, HODGES began discussing specific plans to travel to West Virginia to meet the UCO and her daughters. He stated that he was traveling to Florida on January 7, 2022, but could fly from there to West Virginia. He suggested coming to West Virginia on January 14, 2022. He asked the UCO, “When you do bring me home how soon do you want to watch [the 13-year-old girl] get fucked?” He planned to stay for several days, suggesting that the first two nights he would sleep in the same bed as each girl, and then on the third night he would have sex with the 13-year-old.
Authorities said that Hodges was arrested after taking a flight to Charleston, W. Va. on Jan. 14, 2022.
According to federal court records reviewed by Law&Crime, Hodges pleaded guilty in June 2022 to two counts of attempted enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity. He was sentenced Friday in the Southern District of West Virginia to 27 years in prison, meaning Hodges would have to live nearly a century to see outside of the prison walls again. Hodges was also sentenced to 15 years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender, records show. Federal prosecutors said that the court referred to Hodges actions as “abominable.”
The government’s sentencing memo in the case included West Coast sheriff’s office exhibits going all the back to 2006. The feds said that Hodges had a “long-term dream” to make young girls with vulnerable mothers his “personal sex slaves,” as evidenced by his prior “sadistic” abuse in California of 17-year-old girl in the mid-2000s:
Defendant’s conduct in this case is extraordinarily disturbing. He eagerly arranged to step into the role of “Papaw” to the 11- and 13-year-old girls, with the understanding that “Papaw” would engage in sex with both girls as frequently as every day. He described, in graphic detail, exactly how he planned to take the 11-year-old girl’s virginity. He sent the girls gifts, including lingerie. He sent the woman paperwork to arrange to for him to homeschool the girls. He booked a trip to Washington, D.C., to take the girls to the zoo. And he set forth the “protocols” for the household, which included the woman and girls having to undress every time they entered the home. He then flew to West Virginia to meet the woman.
Defendant’s conduct in this case is consistent with the interest he has had in sexual slavery and child pornography for at least 15 years. As the documentation from the 2006 case with K, defendant transported the then-17-year-old K across state lines for her to live with him as his sex slave. Per K’s statements to law enforcement, he engaged in sexual activity with her prior to her 18th birthday, and he regularly engaged in sadistic sexual abuse of her. She also observed child pornography on his computers. Her statements (see Exhibit 1) are largely corroborated by the results of the search of defendant’s home and computer (See Exhibit 2) and defendant’s own statement.
Carter County Detention records in Kentucky show that Hodges was booked there on Dec. 30, 2022 following an arrest by U.S. Marshals.
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