According to documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, West Virginia authorities have appointed a special prosecutor to investigate two Berkeley County circuit court judges, a sheriff captain, and a former forensic interviewer following allegations they conspired to falsely convict a veteran father to gain custody of his child.

On November 10, 2025, a report from National File by journalist Ethan Fowler unearthed a scandal involving Taylor Staubs, who was allegedly involved in creating explicit content at Washington High School.

The investigation further implicated Staubs in a purported conspiracy alongside her stepfather, Circuit Court Judge R. Steven Redding, and her romantic partner, Berkeley County Sheriff Captain Trent Heckman. The trio allegedly orchestrated a plan to wrongfully accuse Staubs’s ex-husband, Travis Miller, of domestic violence.

In response, West Virginia authorities appointed Special Prosecutor John Ours to the case, with the investigation led by seasoned West Virginia State Police Sgt. Andy O’Dell. Under state law, the grand jury has extensive powers, putting the accused at risk of facing criminal charges that might result in a combined sentence of over 200 years.

John Ours, Grant County’s elected prosecutor, is renowned for his unwavering stance on accountability, regardless of an official’s status. In 2024, he made headlines by prosecuting two former Jefferson County commissioners, Jennifer Krouse and Tricia Jackson, who faced 42 misdemeanor charges for dereliction of duty, leading to their convictions and removal from office. Read more about this case here.

The detailed investigation by National File prompted the involvement of Special Prosecutor John Ours, resulting in a grand jury inquiry with the four individuals now confronting 45 potential criminal charges.

In the wake of our initial report, National File can now further reveal a flood of allegations of illegal actions documented in court filings examining the four subjects under investigation, and the evidence that led to the appointment of the special investigator and the grand jury, as well as details surrounding questions about why a member of law enforcement under investigation — Captain Heckman — retains his access to law enforcement databases while under criminal investigation.

West Virginia Grand Jury Targets Four Subjects For Investigation

A grand jury with extraordinary powers is now investigating four individuals: Circuit Court Judge R. Steven Redding, Circuit Court Judge Laura Faircloth, Berkeley County Sheriff Captain Trent Heckman, and former forensic interviewer Taylor Staubs.

These four subjects represent a coordinated network spanning the judiciary, law enforcement, and the victim advocate community, with allegations suggesting they used their positions to manipulate the criminal justice system for personal gain.

Judge R. Steven Redding

The 27th Judicial Circuit appointed Judge R. Steven Redding to the bench in 2018. He is Taylor Staubs’s stepfather. Before the investigation, Governor Patrick Morrisey considered him on a “short list” of four candidates for a West Virginia Supreme Court vacancy.

The allegations against Redding include abusing his position of public truth to gain an advantage in custody proceedings and acquiring children who are not his own. Authorities appointed a special prosecutor on December 15, 2025, to investigate these claims.

In October 2023, Redding testified before the state legislature in Charleston seeking funds to detain teens in in-state facilities as his parental takeaways had grown so vast that he was sending children to out-of-state facilities.

Judge Laura Faircloth

Judge Laura Faircloth, also of the 27th Judicial Circuit, convicted Travis Miller in 2022. The allegations against her center on allowing Judge Redding to influence her sentencing decision in that criminal matter. According to sources, she has earned a reputation as the “harshest sentencer in West Virginia.” Authorities appointed Special Prosecutor John Ours to investigate her role in the conspiracy.

Captain Trent Heckman

Captain Trent Heckman serves as the number three ranking officer in the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office and carried on an affair with Taylor Staubs while married. The allegations against him include leaking confidential criminal files to his girlfriend for prosecutorial advantage.

Furthermore, he testified alongside Staubs in a July 2024 trial without disclosing their affair, creating a possible Brady Violation. Despite being under investigation, he still has access to law enforcement databases. Authorities also appointed his special prosecutor on December 15, 2025.

Taylor Staubs

Taylor Staubs worked as a forensic interviewer and supervisor at the Children’s Home Society in Martinsburg, where she conducted over 300 forensic interviews with children. Courts swore her in as an expert witness dozens of times. Allegations against Staubs include illegally obtaining her ex-husband’s criminal file and coordinating with Redding and Heckman to falsely convict him.

Washington High School terminated her in November 2025 for producing pornography on school property. Authorities appointed a special prosecutor to investigate her as well.

West Virginia Grand Jury Timeline: From Article to Investigation

National File’s reporting rapidly sparked the initiation of a special prosecutor appointment and the subsequent criminal investigation. Authorities took action within days of Fowler’s first exposé.

Within just nine days of the November 10 report, Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney Joe Kinsner recused himself, and requested the appointment of a special prosecutor. Judge Debra McLaughlin approved Kinsner’s request on November 20, 2025.

Following the National File’s article on November 10, events moved swiftly.

On November 19, the Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney recused his office. The very next day, authorities filed a request for a special prosecutor, which Judge Debra McLaughlin approved.

On December 15, the court officially entered administrative orders appointing John Ours as the special prosecutor for all four subjects.

The court has sealed the Coram Nobis case, but expects to unseal it on Friday, January 16, 2026 according to a published order by the specially appointed judge in the case, Judge John Treadway of Hardy County.

The Evidence: Illegal Bail and File Acquisition

Court documents provide mathematical proof that authorities set Travis Miller’s bail at 400 percent over the statutory limit, while Taylor Staubs’s October 6th custody filing proves she illegally obtained confidential criminal files.

This documentary evidence demonstrates a coordinated effort to set illegal bail, manufacture a conviction through coerced testimony, and illegally access confidential files to maintain the false conviction, with each action traceable to one of the four subjects under investigation.

According to court documents and audio sources, authorities set Travis Miller’s bail at either $12,000 or $42,000 for misdemeanor domestic violence. The statutory maximum is only $3,000.

Magistrate Harry Snow set this bail on January 2, 2020. For comparison, public accounts attest that authorities recently set bail at $30,000 for a man who is accused far greater crimes of “wanton endangerment” of several Berkeley County law enforcement officers with a firearm.

The October 6th custody filing by Taylor Staubs contained Miller’s entire unredacted criminal file from the 2020 police report, including the victim’s name, address, and Miller’s driver’s license number. This filing provides documentary proof of the illegal leak from law enforcement databases, to which Captain Heckman had access.

Miller’s wife, the alleged victim, stated in an affidavit that authorities manufactured the conviction itself. She stated that a domestic violence advocate and a prosecuting attorney told her, “Taylor is a very good friend of ours. She came to us off the record, and to be honest, we’re here to get justice for Taylor.”

Miller’s attorney at the time, Craig Manford, whom Judge Redding recommended, then objected to Miller’s partner testifying in his defense.

Consequently, Judge Laura Faircloth convicted Miller with the harshest possible sentence, which led to his immediate discharge from the military, just six years shy of his retirement. Miller also lost any hope of custody as, under West Virginia law, a conviction for domestic violence cancels 50/50 custody presumption.

A 25-Year Pattern: Grooming and Suicide

Court filings made public before the sealing of the case contain allegations that Judge Redding engaged in a 25-year pattern of acquiring children who are not his own, beginning with Taylor Staubs, when she was approximately five years old. That pattern eventually culminated in her biological father’s suicide in December 2008.

The allegations suggest a multi-decade pattern of Judge Redding using his influence to eliminate biological fathers and assume control over their children, with Scott Staubs’s 2008 suicide and Travis Miller’s 2020 false conviction representing two iterations of the same scheme.

The First Supplement to the Coram Nobis petition states, “Taylor Staubs is both perpetrator and victim of Steve Redding’s decade-long obsession with young girls.”

It includes evidence of seven criminal cases authorities filed against Taylor’s father, Scott Staubs, in 2007, just one year before his death.

The filing alleges Judge Redding drove Scott Staubs to suicide through “parental alienation” and “judicial abuse.” Following his death, a 2009 Facebook post shows a photo captioned “Taylor with Daddy-Steve,” demonstrating Redding’s role as a de facto father figure.

Captain Heckman’s Continued Access to Databases

As of press time, Captain Trent Heckman is on duty, and retains access to Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office law enforcement databases despite being under grand jury investigation for illegally leaking confidential criminal files to his girlfriend.

This represents an ongoing public safety concern and raises questions about Sheriff Robert Blair’s handling of the matter.

The West Virginia State Police are investigating Heckman for “disclosing confidential criminal information for prosecutorial advantage for his girlfriend,” yet Sheriff Blair has not suspended Heckman or revoked his database access.

“He knows because they had to have subpoenaed all the logs and everything. Blair knows that Heckman is under investigation,” a source stated in an audio transcript.

Public court documents found in a July 2024 trial compounds this issue, where Taylor Staubs and Captain Heckman both served as expert witnesses without disclosing their affair, creating a possible Brady Violation that led to the incarceration of a couple accused of child abuse.

When asked about the ongoing risk, a source stated, “How can you have a guy on duty getting accused of accessing your system and giving it to people and still have access to the system?” As of this report, Sheriff Blair has made no public statement on Heckman’s duty status.

National File has obtained further documentation of allegations that Heckman allegedly recruited married women into their operation, tearing apart families in the process.

The Path Forward

The swift appointment of a special prosecutor and the launch of a grand jury investigation after National File’s initial November 10th report underscores the gravity of the allegations.

The four targets of the investigation —Judge R. Steven Redding, Judge Laura Faircloth, Captain Trent Heckman, and Taylor Staubs—now face potential criminal charges that carry over 200 years of combined sentencing for their alleged roles in a 25-year pattern of judicial corruption, intimidation, illegal file leaking, and child acquisition schemes.

The reporting of these facts demonstrate the infiltration and corruption of multiple levels of the justice system as judges, law enforcement, and victim advocates coordinate to manipulate criminal proceedings for personal gain. Captain Heckman retains access to law enforcement databases while under investigation.

Judge Treadway who is overseeing the Coram Nobis case, expects to unseal the files on January 16, 2026, with the grand jury projected to convene on February 17, 2026.

National File is awaiting a response from Sheriff Robert Blair why Captain Heckman has not been suspended and continues to have access to the same databases he allegedly used to illegally leak confidential files.

Governor Morrisey is confirmed to be personally monitoring the investigation, which demonstrates that accountability can reach the highest levels of judicial corruption when investigative journalism exposes the truth.

If you have information related to Taylor Staubs, Captain Trent Heckman or Judge R. Steven Redding, contact Berkeleytips@proton.me.