Mercer County Man Sentenced For Witness Tampering In Sex Trafficking Case
Monday, June 2, 2025, 6:30 A.M. ET. 3 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
CHARLESTON, W.VA.- A 56-year-old Bluefield, West Virginia, man and convicted child predator will be spending twelve years in federal prison after he was sentenced last Tuesday for bribing a 12-year-old girl to recant her testimony in an early sex trafficking prosecution.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston, On Tuesday, May 27, 2025, Terry Leon Blankenship, 56, of Bluefield, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Thomas E. Johnston to 144 months in federal prison, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release for his conviction of federal witness tampering offenses.
Blankenship Convicted At Was Found Guilty At Trial
On January 18, 2024, following a one-day trial in Federal Court in Charleston, West Virginia, a jury found Blankenship guilty of Interfering with the Enforcement of Federal Sex Trafficking laws; and Attempted Witness Tampering. The jury also found Blankenshp’s wife, Laurel Blankenship, guilty of Conspiracy to Commit Witness Tampering.
Evidence Presented At Trial Proved Blankenship’s Guilt
Evidence presented at trial proved, beyond a reasonable doubt, that beginning in and around April 4, 2023, and lasting through July 25, 2023, Blankenship and his wife conspired to influence the testimony of a witness in a federal child sex trafficking case against Blankenship.
The witness, a 12-year-old girl, had alleged the Blankenship had paid her for sexual activity with vapes and other items. Based on the child’s allegations, a Federal Grand Jury for the Southern District of West Virginia returned an indictment against Blankenship, charging him with sex trafficking of a minor under the age of fourteen. Sometime later, the 12-year-old girl recanted the allegation during the course of a West Virginia Child Protective Services investigation that could have resulted in her being placed in foster care.
During multiple recorded phone conversations and video jail calls while Blankenship was incarcerated pending trial on the child sex trafficking case, he and his wife had numerous conversations about ensuring that the 12-year-old girl maintained her recantation that she had made to child protective services. The recorded conversations included discussions about bribing the girl with an iPhone to ensure she continued her recantation.
Citing evidence presented at an earlier hearing, Judge Johnston concluded at sentencing that Blankenship engaged in sex acts with the preteen girl, that her initial disclosure of his sex abuse was credible, and that the later recantation was not. Judge Johnston also concluded that Blankenship obstructed justice by testifying falsely at the earlier hearing.
Blankenship Was A Previously Convicted Child Predator
   At the time of the instant offense, Blankenship was a registered sex offender after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia in December of 2008. Blankenship, on that guilty plea, was sentenced to 100 months in federal prison and was serving a lifetime of supervised release at the time he committed the sex acts upon the 12-year-old girl and the attempted witness tampering.
In addition, on Thursday, May 29, 2025, Blankenship’s wife, Laurel Blankenship, appeared in the U.S. District Court Court for the Southern District of West Virginia and was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release for her role in the attempted witness tampering scheme.
Acting U.S. Attorney Johnston commended the investigative work of the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department, which led to the successful prosecution of the Blankenship and his wife.
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