ESTILL, S.C. (WSAV) – A 37-year-old Lowcountry man has been found guilty in the rape of a 10-year-old girl, who he impregnated.
According to the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, Tony Singleton, 37, of Estill, was convicted of first-degree criminal sexual assault with a minor under the age of 11 on Wednesday.
The solicitor’s office says the incident occurred in 2016. The child victim told a forensic interviewer that year that a man — who knew her mother — came into her room one night while she was watching “SpongeBob SquarePants.” The victim said Singleton turned off the lights and her television show and forced her to have intercourse.
“The girl’s revelation was made after her mother took her to a doctor to terminate the girl’s pregnancy,” the solicitor’s office stated. “A DNA sample taken from the fetus and sent to the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division for analysis showed Singleton was the unborn child’s father.”
Singleton was sentenced to life in prison. He has previous convictions for traffic and drug offenses.
Hunter Swanson of the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office prosecuted the case. Circuit Court Judge Carmen T. Mullen delivered the sentence.
“This man was someone she trusted, someone who lurked inside her home, someone who changed the fabric of his victim’s life forever,” Swanson said.
