BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

INEZ — One man is behind bars charged with a first-degree rape that occurred Tuesday in Inez.

According to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, Chief Deputy Chris Kidd responded to a call from Horn’s BP on Route 645 reporting a woman had been raped.

The victim reported she was forcibly picked up by a man early Tuesday morning in Inez. She stated the man drove her around before stopping at the Martin County Senior Citizens Center parking lot on Holy Street.

She began fearing for her life after the man asked if she had “heard about the two girls from [local addiction treatment center] who were raped and killed.”

While in the parking lot, she said, the man grabbed her head and forced her to perform oral sex. A few minutes later, he moved across the seat, forced himself on top of her, and had sexual intercourse with her.

After the assault, she told police, the suspect left the parking lot and dropped the victim off on Route 645.

The woman described a male, possibly in his 50s, with a grayish mustache and beard, wearing an orange or yellow vest. She noted seeing a helmet in the back seat of his vehicle.

Deputy Kidd obtained video surveillance from the Senior Citizens Center, which showed the vehicle entering the parking lot around the time of the reported encounter. The vehicle was parked for several minutes before departing.

Kidd identified the vehicle as belonging to Steven Casdorph, 45, of Inez.

The deputy quickly located Casdorph’s vehicle on KY-3 in Inez and detained him for questioning. During the interrogation, Casdorph admitted to picking the woman up and taking her to the senior citizens center parking lot.

The victim was transported to a hospital for a forensic assessment.

Casdorph was taken to the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center.