Waynesboro man waives jury trial and pleads guilty to amended sexual assault charge

WAYNESBORO. A man accused of sexually assaulting a woman last year pleaded guilty Wednesday morning in Waynesboro District Court to an amended felony charge, canceling a scheduled jury trial.

Ethan J. Poindexter, 47, of Waynesboro, was originally charged in February with forcible sexual penetration of a living subject. According to court documents, sexual violence occurred in November 2023.

In court Wednesday, Poindexter pleaded guilty to an amended charge of aggravated sexual assault, prompting the cancellation of a scheduled jury trial.

According to the plea agreement, he was sentenced to one month in prison and sentenced to five years of probation. Poindexter spent 40 days in jail after his February arrest and will have credit for time served, according to Waynesboro Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Elisse Stolpe.

Poindexter, who was represented by attorney Jessica Sherman-Stoltz, will also be registered as a sex offender.

His guilty plea could affect Staunton’s fatal drug case, which landed him on probation in 2021 with probation hanging over his head.

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The woman died of an overdose in 2018

In 2021, after several postponements due to the pandemic, Poindexter was sentenced to 1.5 years behind bars in the Staunton drug case. He was also sentenced to five years of probation.

Arrested in 2018, Poindexter was accused of supplying a 34-year-old Staunton woman with a fatal dose of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that can be fatal when abused. A woman was found to be unresponsive at a home in the 300 block of Thompson Street in Staunton. Poindexter claimed he thought he had sold the victim methamphetamine, the prosecutor said at the time.

In Staunton’s case, he was initially charged with involuntary manslaughter and drug distribution (second offense). No manslaughter charges were filed, and Poindexter pleaded guilty to an amended charge of drug distribution, court records show. He had 4 1/2 years of a six-year sentence suspended and could potentially face prison time if convicted of a probation violation.

As of Wednesday afternoon, court records showed Poindexter had not been charged in Staunton in the drug case.

He was also convicted in Louisa County of drug distribution in 2000.

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This article originally appeared on the Staunton News Leader: Waynesboro man pleads guilty to aggravated sexual assault