Fairmont Police Officer Christopher Guinup Indicted For Abuse Of 9-Year-Old Girl

<p>A Marion County grand jury has indicted Fairmont, West Virginia police officer Christopher Guinup for sexually abusing a nine-year-old girl — sixteen months after he admitted to the conduct himself, and after nearly the entire gap passed with no charges filed at all. He was fired from the department in 2025; the charge arrived this week.</p>

<p>Christopher Guinup, 45, was charged Tuesday with two felony counts: first-degree sexual abuse, and sexual abuse by a parent, guardian, or custodian — the count the law reserves for someone the child was supposed to be able to trust. The conduct alleged in the indictment dates to 2021, while Guinup was an active Fairmont police officer.</p>

<h2>He Admitted It. Then Sixteen Months Of Nothing.</h2>

<p>In June 2025, Marion County sheriff’s deputies arrested Guinup — and deputies say he admitted to abusing the girl in his own words. The sheriff at the time called the allegations a blemish on the badge of law enforcement. Fairmont PD fired him that same month.</p>

<p>And then: nothing. No indictment. No trial. For roughly sixteen months after his arrest, he faced no charges — much of that time living across state lines in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, where records show he moved after leaving the department.</p>

<p>This month, the grand jury’s paperwork finally caught up with him. Why the case sat uncharged for sixteen months after an admission is not explained in any public record — and neither the prosecutor’s office nor the court has offered one.</p>

<h2>The Counts</h2>

<p>Count one, first-degree sexual abuse, is one of the most serious felony classifications West Virginia carries for this category of offense. Count two — abuse by a parent, guardian, or custodian — reflects the victim’s relationship to the man she should have been safe with. She was nine years old when the conduct began.</p>

<p>Guinup, now of New Kensington, is expected to face extradition proceedings and arraignment next. Neither his plea nor a trial date exists yet; this page will be updated as the Marion County case moves.</p>

<p>A badge is a promise. When the person wearing it breaks it against a child, and the system takes sixteen months to file the paperwork — both failures deserve the light.</p>