Lexington man committed sex crimes against girl, shot gun at her father, sheriff says
A Lexington man was arrested on multiple charges, including attempted murder and committing sex crimes against a girl, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday.
Steven Dwayne Bethea was sexually abusing a child between 11 and 14 years old and fired a gun at the girl’s father who found the 29-year-old Lexington resident with the minor, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
On multiple occasions, between Oct. 1-14 and again on Nov. 28 while at Mayrant Road, Bethea engaged in sexual battery with the child, according to the release.
Bethea also encouraged the girl to leave her home without her parents’ permission, the sheriff’s office said.
Bethea was arrested Nov. 28 and taken to the Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center where he was charged with attempted murder, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor between 11 and 14 years of age, jail records show.
He remains behind bars after bond was denied on all of the charges, according to jail records.
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This story was originally published December 3, 2020 at 9:38 AM.
