BEAUFORT, SC (June 15, 2022) – A Hilton Head Island man has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for breaking into a pregnant woman’s house, assaulting her as she slept and recording the assault on his cellphone.
Tyreek Lorenzo Robinson, 23, of Muddy Creek Road was convicted Wednesday of first-degree burglary, first-degree assault and battery, and aggravated voyeurism. He received 16 years for the burglary charge, five years for the assault and battery, and six years for the voyeurism. The sentences are to be served consecutively. He must also register as a sex offender.
“These were incredibly brazen and vile acts against a person in her most vulnerable state, while she was sleeping in her own home,” said Hunter Swanson of the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office Special Victims Unit, who prosecuted the case. “This woman has been incredibly brave throughout this harrowing ordeal. By her taking the stand, she helped put an end to Mr. Robinson’s dangerous, escalating and terrifying behavior.”
On Sept. 19, 2020, Robinson entered the victim’s home through an open garage door. He went into the sleeping woman’s bedroom and used his cell phone to film his assault of the woman.
The jury of six women and six men watched the cellphone video and heard from the victim during the two-day trial. Swanson called nine witnesses, including investigators with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, which investigated the case.
The video depicts close images of the victim’s genitalia before zooming out. Then the suspect’s left hand enters the camera’s view and he touches her. The woman jolts awake. The video then shows the suspect diving to the floor.
The woman yells at the man, chases him out of her house and calls 911.
“I woke up and he was underneath my bed,” the woman tells the 911 operator.
Weeks later, while responding to an unrelated incident on Muddy Creek Road, deputies seized Robinson’s phone from an overturned Chevy Blazer. Investigators found images and videos of a sleeping woman created on the same day incident was reported. The victim verified that the video was taken in her home.
The jury deliberated for 20 minutes before returning a guilty verdict on all counts.
Circuit Court Judge Robert Bonds handed down the sentence.
Swanson leads the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office Special Victims Unit; which prosecutes domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and other crimes against vulnerable people. She has been with the Solicitor’s Office since 2007.
