Son of Florence accused cop killer gets 20 years on rape charge against minor

The 29-year-old son of accused police killer Fred T. Hopkins Jr. was sentenced to 20 years in prison Monday morning on a criminal sexual conduct charge involving one of his 10 siblings, a minor.

State circuit Judge G. Thomas Cooper sentenced Seth David Hopkins, who had no prior criminal record, at the Richland County courthouse after Hopkins pleaded guilty to the charge during a 17-minute hearing.

Hopkins, dressed in an orange jump suit and wearing a bushy beard and unkempt hair, was originally charged with 10 counts of criminal sexual conduct against two of his siblings, but he agreed to plead guilty to only one count — and accept the maximum 20-year sentence on that count — in return for having the other nine counts dropped, prosecutor and defense lawyers said.

Hopkins made no statement, but in an answer to a question posed by Judge Cooper, he admitted he was guilty of the charge.

Assistant 12th Circuit Solicitor David Richardson told the judge that the crime took place in 2017 and 2018 in the bedroom of one of Seth Hopkins’ siblings, an 11-year-old girl.

The formal charge was criminal sexual conduct second degree, which in this case meant that Hopkins carried out the assault with his hand, Richardson said.

Hopkins’ lawyer, Brad Kirkland of Columbia, told the judge a major reason his client is pleading guilty is to spare the victim and himself the pain of what would likely be an “extremely draining” two-week trial.

“Seth quite frankly did not want to put his little sister through that ordeal,” Kirkland said. “Seth is very close to his family.”

Kirkland also told the judge that the family house where the assaults took place “to say the least, was a rather chaotic environment. I think that played a role — and a pretty large role — in the bad decisions that Seth made.”

Seth’s parents “either had or adopted 11 children that were living in this home. ... It was pretty clear that at any given time, things were pretty chaotic,” Kirkland said.

Seth Hopkins had dropped out of high school in ninth grade, partially due to “some mental health issues he was going through as well as some physical issues,” Kirkland said. The mental issues don’t mean that Hopkins didn’t know what he was doing, Kirkland said, adding “but I do believe they played a role in his very poor decision-making.” The physical issues, which Kirkland didn’t elaborate on, made it difficult for Hopkins to attend school and easily have friends, the lawyer said.

From the ninth grade when he dropped out of school to when he was arrested, he was living with his parents, primarily working for his mother, a Florence attorney, Kirkland said.

Had Hopkins gone to trial and been found guilty on all 10 counts, he would have been exposed to sentences totaling “hundreds” of years — effectively a life sentence, said 12th Circuit Solicitor Ed Clements in an interview after the hearing.

Father accused of killing officers

In October 2018, when Florence city police officers went to the house where Seth Hopkins was living with his siblings and his father, a shootout erupted in which gunfire from the house killed two police officers and wounded five others. In the ensuing two-hour gun battle, more than 400 shots were fired.

The shooting — widely described as the officers’ being ambushed by Fred Hopkins — attracted national publicity.

Officers had gone to the Hopkins house to talk with Seth Hopkins about reports that he had been inappropriately touching one of the siblings for three years, according to a police report.

Fred Hopkins, a Vietnam combat veteran, has been charged with two counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder. Seth Hopkins was not involved in any of the shooting, according to public records.

Although the case is eligible for the death penalty, no public decision has been announced on whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty against Fred Hopkins.

One Florence officer, Sgt. Terrence Carraway, died from wounds the day of the gun battle. The second slain officer, Farrah Turner, died from her wounds weeks later.

When Seth Hopkins leaves prison, he will be required to wear a GPS monitor for the rest of his life and register as a sex offender, Judge Cooper said.

“Good luck to you you, sir,” said Cooper, as Hopkins was led away, his ankle chains clanking as deputies escorted him from the courtroom.

This story was originally published December 16, 2019 at 11:57 AM.