He was also given prison time for sex trafficking.
Acrelius Dunbar Lyle (Photo from Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office0
Hagerstown, Md (KM) A sentence was handed down on Monday in Frederick County Circuit Court for a Hagerstown man for sex abuse of a minor and sex trafficking. The State’s Attorney’s Office says Arcelius Dunbar Lyle, 58, was given 35 years incarceration, suspending all but 20 years to serve.. He pleaded guilty to those charges on September 26th, 2024.
Lyle was arrested on June 29th, 2023 following an investigation by a Multi-Agency Prostitution and Human Trafficking Operation. It says Lyle met the victim at work, and began grooming her. . He trafficked her for about seven months before police made contact with the victim.
After his hearing, Lyle was ordered held without bond, and was ordered to have no contact with the victim.
During his time in the Detention Center, the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office says it learned of a 30-minute call made from jail by Lyle to the victim who was told to sexually abuse her four-year-old daughter. That case has been referred to Washington County Authorities where the abuse occurred.
“Unfortunately, these cases are much more pervasive than the public realizes,” says Frederick County State’s Attorney Charlie Smith, in a statement. “Fortunately, Frederick County has taken the lead in developing interagency task forces to aggressively seek out these predators, and has prosecutors like ASA (Assistant State’s Attorney) Carpenter that obtain lengthy sentences for these terrible offenders,”
Chief Assistant State’s Attorney Lindsey Carpenter, who is with the Special Victims Unit, represented the State of Maryland in this case.;
As part of his sentence, Lyle will be placed on five years supervised probation after he’s released from prison. He will be required to register as a sex offender for life, and be subject to Lifetime Sex Offender supervision.
By Kevin McManus