A young man with a previous sex crime conviction was arrested recently in Kershaw County, South Carolina. The 23-year-old was convicted in 2009 of soliciting a 12-year-old girl. That conviction was in Lexington County.
Now police in Kershaw have charged him with two counts of having sex with a minor between 11 and 14 years old. This particular charge carries a second-degree status.
According to police, the mother of a 14-year-old girl found text messages between the suspect and the girl. The mother told police that she thought the messages signaled an inappropriate relationship between her daughter and the man. More evidence against the man, according to investigators, was found on social media. The exact nature of this evidence wasn’t disclosed in a local report.
After speaking with the girl, deputies obtained a warrant for the suspect’s arrest.
Authorities reported the man as a fugitive on June 25, and deputies in Lexington County arrested him on July 18. There is also a probation hold on the suspect, and he will eventually have to be transported to Kershaw County to appear for a bond hearing.
Sex crime allegations are extremely serious, but in any case, people accused of such a crime are entitled to a competent criminal defense. Everyone facing criminal charges is presumed innocent unless the prosecution’s evidence proves otherwise.
If you would like to learn more about criminal law in South Carolina, our Myrtle Beach sex crime site may prove helpful. Our firm handles cases involving allegations of sexual misconduct.
Source: midlandsconnect.com, “Convicted sex offender accused of soliciting 14-year old girl for sex,” Drew Stewart, July 18, 2013