WALTERBORO, SC (June 28, 2023) A 44-year-old Walterboro man who sexually abused a young girl several times over a span of years is headed to prison.
Bradley Lamont Jackson was found guilty Wednesday of two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor following a two-day jury trial at the Colleton County Courthouse. He received 30 years for each charge of criminal sexual conduct. The sentences are to be served consecutively. Jackson also was forbidden to have any contact with his victim.
“It is not uncommon for there to be little to no physical evidence of sexual abuse, but there are almost always some sort of indicators,” said Julie Kate Keeney of the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, who prosecuted the case. “This little girl gave consistent and disturbingly specific details about what she experienced from her abuser.”
An anonymous call to the department of social services alerted officials to possible abuse. When Walterboro Police and Colleton County DSS responded to the home in May 2021, the girl – who was 9 at the time – disclosed the sexual abuse at the hands of Jackson. She said it began two years earlier, in 2019, when she was 7. Authorities immediately removed the girl and her older brother from the home and placed them into protective custody.
The girl testified during the trial and was one of eight witnesses to take the stand.
Jackson’s prior convictions include obscene gestures (1997); resisting arrest (2001); assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature (2004); and cruelty to children (2017).
“This is a classic example of ‘if you see something, say something,’” said forensic nurse Jennifer Talley of the 14th Circuit Victims Services Center. Talley is specially trained to treat sexual assault patients. “In some cases, children need the public to advocate for them. If you suspect abuse, it’s important to report your concerns.”
To report sexual abuse of a young child, call 911 or your local law enforcement agency. To learn more about the warning signs of sexual abuse in young children, go to rainn.org/articles/warning-signs-young-children or call the 14th Circuit Victims Services Center at (843) 790-6220 and ask to speak with a pediatric forensic nurse.
Circuit Court Judge Carmen Mullen handed down Wednesday’s sentence.
Keeney oversees prosecutions in Colleton County. She has been a prosecutor for 12 years.
