Lexington man sentenced to 15 years for drugging, assaulting a minor he met on Snapchat
A Lexington man pleaded guilty last week to burglary and sexual assault of a 14-year-old.
Timothy Michael Jones, Jr. was sentenced to 15 years for criminal sexual conduct in the second degree and burglary in the third degree. The two cases are unrelated, according to a statement released by the 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
Judge Debra McCaslin handed down a 15-year sentence for the assault and five-year sentence for the burglary. The sentences are set to run concurrently, meaning that Jones will serve a maximum of 15 years. Under South Carolina law, the sexual assault charge is considered a violent, “no parole offense.”
Jones does not appear to be related to Timothy Ray Jones, Jr. who is currently on South Carolina’s death row for killing his five children in Lexington County in 2014.
In April 2021, Jones, 33, connected with a 14-year-old girl over Snapchat. The girl was spending the night with her friend, according to the statement from prosecutors. Jones met up with the minors and took them out to the Red Bank area of Lexington County where he gave them a “cocktail of three illegal drugs,” the statement said.
Jones then assaulted one of the girls before taking them home, the Solicitor’s office said. The girl’s parents contacted law enforcement after she told them what had happened. The case was investigated by the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.
Jones has already been charged at least twice in Lexington county for failing to register as a sex offender, according to court records. He also has a prior criminal record for drugs and domestic violence, the prosecutor’s office said.
The burglary charge stemmed from a September 2020 break-in, when Jones was caught on camera stealing approximately $2,000 worth of possessions from a homeowner.
Both cases were prosecuted by Eleventh Circuit Assistant Solicitor Ashley Wellman. Jones was represented by James Verdell Holladay III, a public defender.
This story was originally published August 20, 2022 at 1:03 PM.