Man gets 13 years for criminal sexual conduct with a minor
A Darlington County man has been sentenced to 13 years in prison after pleading guilty to criminal sexual conduct with a minor, second degree, S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson says.
In a news release, Wilson said that Joseph James Williamson of Darlington County entered the plea July 13 before Judge Michael Nettles in Darlington County.
In November 2019, the victim’s mother found sexually explicit messages on her daughter’s phone from Williamson, Wilson said in the release. The two communicated via social media and text. Williamson was 47 at the time and the victim 14.
Investigator Carol Tarte with the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office obtained records from their social media and examined the victim’s phone, which revealed additional sexually explicit messages, Wilson said. Some were sent to the victim while Williamson was on a cruise with his family.
Williamson was arrested and, following a waiver of his rights, admitted he first sexually assaulted the victim in June 2019, then again in August and October 2019, Wilson said. The victim acknowledged the incidents during a forensic interview. Williamson had been grooming the victim for years, Wilson said. Some news reports say Williamson served as a softball coach in the area, but it was not clear for whom he might have coached.
