An Enfield minister who became familiar to the media during the manhunt and eventual arrest and conviction of his stepdaughter's killer four years ago was charged by Suffield police Wednesday in a sexual assault case.
Rev. William F. Baskerville, 53, of 5 Bailey Road, is charged with first-degree sexual assault and first-degree unlawful restraint.
He was held on $20,000 bond, and was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Enfield Superior Court.
Due to the nature of the charges, Suffield Police Chief Michael Manzi would not release details of the case against Baskerville, other than saying, "It was a lengthy investigation."
Baskerville's stepdaughter, Ashley Peoples, was murdered in 2008; her body was found in her apartment on Church Street in Enfield. A nationwide manhunt ensued for her former boyfriend, Darryl Crenshaw, who was eventually captured after being featured on the Fox television network program "America's Most Wanted."
According to the America's Most Wanted web site, Baskerville received an apologetic phone call from Crenshaw just days after the murder. Baskerville accepted the apology, because as he told his church, “the God Almighty says that vengeance is mine,” the AMW site says.
