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A Chester man who went on the “Dr. Phil” show this week to clear himself of child molestation charges failed a polygraph test sponsored by the show.
William C. Pipes Jr., 52, appeared on the daytime TV show two months after being found guilty of child abuse charges concerning his grandson.
Pipes’ case became a cause celebre, in Hancock County and nationally, but it is unclear whether airing his case on national TV did any good.
Pipes was asked two questions on the polygraph test: 1) Did you touch (the boy’s) genitals for sexual gratification? and 2) Other than for hygienic purposes, did you ever touch your grandson’s genitals?
On Friday, Pipes told Dr. Phil McGraw, the show’s popular host, that he answered “no” to both questions, but McGraw said the test results revealed that Pipes was being deceptive.
“I don’t have anything to say. I don’t believe it,” Pipes said at the end of the hour-long broadcast. “It’d hard to hear something like that.”
Pipes told McGraw that a polygraph test he took earlier in Hancock County came back “inconclusive.”
The case against Pipes goes back to February 2013, when he allegedly touched his 5-year-old grandson sexually. He was indicted by the Hancock County grand jury later that year on one count each of sexual abuse by a custodian and first-degree sexual abuse.
Then, on March 4, Pipes and his attorney, Zachary Stewart, reached an agreement with the Hancock County Prosecutor’s Officer whereby he pleaded no contest to two felony counts of child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury, and the indictment was dismissed.
Hancock County Circuit Court Judge Martin J. Gaughan accepted the plea and found Pipes guilty, giving him a suspended sentence of 4-20 years, putting him on supervised probation for 10 years, and fining him $2,000 and court costs.
Gaughan also said Pipes must register as a child abuser, undergo a psychiatric evaluation and complete any recommended treatment, have no contact with the victim or his immediate family, and have no children living in his home.
Five days later, Stewart filed a motion asking that Pipes be given permission to travel to Los Angeles for a taping of the “Dr. Phil” show. One of the conditions of Pipes’ probation is that he not travel outside the tri-state area of West Virginia-Ohio-Pennsylvania.
Gaughan denied the motion but said Pipes could converse with representatives of the show. Producer Nick Thorsen had contacted Stewart after Pipes’ wife, Betty, wrote the show “desperately seeking help for their torn relationship,” according to court documents.
“We believe it will benefit everyone in the family to get this couple proper counsel,” Thorsen wrote to the Weirton attorney.
While Pipes was interviewed via satellite, other family members, including Betty Pipes and the stepgrandmother who Pipes said falsely accused him, were brought on the show for two days.
Pipes denied to McGraw that he molested the child and said he accepted the plea agreement because he saw no alternative. When McGraw asked why Pipes signed the plea agreement if he was innocent, Pipes said he didn’t fully understand the nature of the agreement.
“Nobody wanted to help me. Nobody wanted to represent me. Nobody believed in me,” he said on the show.
Court records show, however, that on the day of the plea hearing, Gaughan went over a long list of questions with Pipes to determine that he was pleading no contest willingly and knowingly. The list, known as a colloquy, contained 55 points having to do with Pipes’ rights, his plea and his sentencing.
“He was represented by counsel,” said Hancock County Assistant Prosecutor David F. Cross, who was at the plea hearing. “He had a chance to review the agreement in full prior to the time he entered the plea. The judge reviewed every provision of the plea agreement at the hearing with him.”
Such a colloquy can take up to 45 minutes, during which time the defendant must respond in the affirmative to each question from the judge.
Cross said the new charges were filed as an “information” to spare the young victim the trauma of having to testify in court, even though Gaughan had found him competent to testify.
“There are a lot of benefits to the plea agreement, as opposed to going to trial,” Cross said.
Cross said going on the “Dr. Phil” show does not satisfy the probation requirement that Pipes undergo a psychiatric evaluation and complete any recommended treatment.