Competency evaluation ordered for Greenbush man accused of sex offenses involving children

By Linda Cicoira

A competency evaluation was ordered Thursday in Accomack Circuit Court for a Greenbush man accused of sex offenses involving children.

Thirty-five-year-old Alvin Zachariah Bynum asked the court for an outpatient evaluation that would involve a teleconference from the jail. Defense lawyer Kelly DiCorrado said Bynum told her he has mental health issues. “We have concerns about his competency,” she added.

At a June arraignment, Bynum pleaded not guilty to April 2019 aggravated sexual battery of a girl younger than 13, to the April 2022 aggravated sexual battery of another girl younger than 13, and to the September 2022 rape of one of the girls.

Bench trials that were set for later this month and for early September were taken off the docket. Another hearing regarding competency was set for Oct. 19.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Spencer Morgan said he wanted to oppose the move, but considering the seriousness of the crime, he didn’t want there to be any issues. In the interest of time, Morgan favored an inpatient evaluation at Central State Hospital. He said a teleconference evaluation “presents more challenges.”

Judge W. Revell Lewis III replied, “There has to be some basis” for an inpatient analysis like not finding competency via the outpatient evaluation or that the defendant is already in a mental health institution.