Exmore man indicted on charges of sex offenses with child

By Linda Cicoira

A 55-year-old Northampton man is being held in the Eastern Shore Regional Jail after being indicted by a county grand jury earlier this month on sex offenses involving a child younger than 13 that were alleged to have occurred about seven years ago.

The accused, Marcus Antoine Carter, of Bayside Road, in Exmore, was expected to ask for bond Thursday, in Northampton Circuit Court, with his court-appointed lawyer, Kelly Vasta, of Norfolk. The hearing never occurred due to a misunderstanding between lawyers. A new date will have to be set.

The indictments were brought July 12, but were sealed from public view until Carter could be arrested. He was brought in on July 20.  Vasta was appointed to represent him on July 27. Carter is accused of rape, sodomy, and sexual battery of the child between Oct. 1, 2014, and Sept. 10, 2015. He was also indicted on counts of indecent liberties and carnal knowledge of the child between 2014 and 2017.

The defendant has previously been convicted of possession of a stolen property, robbery, criminal possession of a weapon, illegal drug possession, providing a prisoner with a cell phone, two counts of providing unauthorized deliveries to a prisoner, contempt of court, obstruction of justice, and possession with intent to distribute an illegal drug.

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