Man given a decade for rape

By Linda Cicoira

A 60-year-old Onancock area man, who maintained his innocence despite a jury’s conviction, was sentenced Thursday in Accomack Circuit Court to more than a decade in prison for rape.

Judge Leslie L. Lilley suspended three years of the term for Myron Hezzell Edwards Sr., of Gaskins Road, leaving him with seven years and two months of active time to serve. The crime occurred in February 2022. The victim’s name is being withheld due to the nature of the offense.

“I would never have thought of this person in this way,” Edwards said. “It saddens me to be here in this predicament.  I hope you all have mercy upon her and me.”

The defendant said the woman had an illness and her moods were unpredictable because she didn’t take her medication. Edwards also said they used crack together and that he was unable to engage in intimacy because he had several heart attacks.

The jury acquitted the man of sodomy and object sexual penetration.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Spencer Morgan said the victim never changed her mind about the rape, alleging it “from the start.”  She described at trial the anger she felt. “This is something that never should have happened,” the prosecutor said.