Ashburn man sentenced to 20 years for sexual assaults
William George Edwards, 66, appeared before the Loudoun County Circuit Court for sentencing for his conviction of one count of Aggravated Sexual Battery. The Honorable Douglas L. Fleming, Jr. sentenced Edwards to serve 20 years of incarceration in the Virginia Department of Corrections, which is the maximum allowed by law. If released from prison, Edwards will be required to register as a sex offender
for life.
In the summer of 2024, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a past-occurred sexual assault committed approximately 20 years ago. During the ensuing investigation conducted by the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, it was determined that Edwards began sexually assaulting the sixteen-
year-old victim in 2003 until 2006. Edwards and the victim were known to each other. The first sexual assault occurred when the girl’s mother was out of town. Edwards provided alcohol to the teenager, and she experienced a “black out,” but awoke to Edwards raping her. The rapes continued almost weekly for 3
years.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim and her family, and we hope this outcome will aid in their healing. I would like to thank the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office for their thorough investigation of this difficult case. We at the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Loudoun County will do our part to hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes and protect the most vulnerable members of our community, the children,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Bob Anderson.
During the sentencing hearing, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Amelia Flynn argued for a sentence
well above the sentencing guidelines stating that this was a betrayal of trust, and Edwards’s actions had
far-reaching impacts on nearly every aspect of the victim’s life. Flynn highlighted that, during one incident, the victim had vomited while Edwards was sexually assaulting her, and Edwards responded by
helping the victim shower, cleaning her up, and continuing the sexual assault. Flynn also noted that
Edwards attempted to place the blame for the progression of the sexual acts on the victim.
Before he pronounced Edwards’s sentence, Judge Fleming opined that the fact that Edwards’s actions for
the last 20 years could be considered mitigating, but they were also aggravating, since Edwards should
have been in prison, but was able to live his life for 20 years.
Information about Virginia’s Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry and those on it can be
found on the Virginia State Police website: https://www.vspsor.com/.
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Kudos to LCSO Detective Shawn Smith and Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Amelia Flynn for bringing this disgusting monster to justice! Yes, it was justice delayed, but not justice denied. This sends a clear message to all would-be sex predators: Think twice before you put your hands on a child because your actions WILL come back to haunt you, perhaps soon or maybe decades later.