Dalzell man charged with kidnap and rape of 78-year-old woman

Sumter deputies arrested a 66-year-old Dalzell man Wednesday after he was identified as the man who kidnapped and raped a 78-year-old acquaintance.

Edward Earl McElveen was charged with criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping and illegal possession of a weapon, the sheriff’s department said in a news release.

The victim told authorities that she escaped her captor Wednesday morning but that the ordeal began Tuesday night. She “suffered numerous cuts, abrasions and bruises during her ordeal” and was being treated at Palmetto Health Tuomey Hospital in Sumter, officials said.

McElveen, who is a registered sex offender in South Carolina, was arrested without incident on Wednesday. Although he refused to give a DNA sample, his genetic information is on file, the sheriff’s department said.

He was being held at the Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center awaiting a Thursday morning bond hearing.

This story was originally published February 22, 2017 at 5:39 PM with the headline "Dalzell man charged with kidnap and rape of 78-year-old woman."