Bluffton mom gets 51 months in prison for sexual assault of 13-year-old boy

A 42-year-old Bluffton woman must serve at least 51 months in prison for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy while she was baby-sitting him in August 2008.

Susan Tappeiner, 42, also must serve three years of probation after being released from prison and undergo mental health and sexual abuse counseling, according to the sentence issued Monday by Judge Carmen Mullen at the Beaufort County Courthouse in Beaufort.

Mullen said she recognized that Tappeiner had experienced sexual abuse as a child and suffered from anxiety and drug- and alcohol-related problems. But the hardest part of the sentencing, Mullen said, was that Tappeiner's two children would "lose" their mother while she served time.

"The fact remains that you sexually assaulted a 13-year-old child," Mullen said. "That we cannot forget."

Tappeiner was given a chance to speak before the sentencing. She called the suffering she caused the victim and his family "inconceivable" and apologized. Tappeiner also requested probation and said time spent in prison would be detrimental to her children.

"I would like to redeem myself in the community," Tappeiner said. "Whatever you deem is my responsibility, I will not fail you."

Tappeiner was convicted by a jury Oct. 28 of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

Mullen had delayed the sentencing pending results of an investigation by the S.C. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services into Tappeiner's claim that she, too, had been abused and had mental health problems.

Under state law, Tappeiner must serve at least 85 percent of her five-year sentence -- or 51 months -- before she could be released because it is a violent crime. If she violates the conditions of her sentence, she could have to serve 10 years of the suspended sentence.

During the hearing, assistant solicitor Dawn Burke on behalf of the state asked that Tappeiner be sentenced to 20 years -- the maximum punishment allowed.

Beaufort attorney Mike Macloskie requested that Tappeiner receive probation only or something more restrictive, such as house arrest, as long as the sentence didn't put her in prison. Macloskie argued that Tappeiner needs immediate personal and family counseling to work through her own slate of personal issues and rehabilitate from the incident.

Thomas Victor Martin, a forensic and general psychiatrist in Columbia, testified Monday that after talking with Tappeiner, he determined she suffered from a long-term anxiety disorder and alcohol abuse. Issues from her past might have contributed to her anxiety disorder, Martin said.

On Aug. 15, 2008 -- the night of the incident -- Tappeiner took an anxiety medication and also had several alcoholic drinks. The combination played a role in her behavior that night and led to a situation that was "quite out of character," Martin said.

Martin said that during conversations with Tappeiner, she acknowledged responsibility for inappropriate sexual behavior.

As part of the sentencing, Mullen ordered that the Beaufort County Detention Center allow Tappeiner to receive private counseling paid for by her family.

Tappeiner was charged in February after the victim told a Bluffton police officer at his school that he had been forced to have sex with her. The incident occurred at her home while she was baby-sitting him and his sisters. The boy, who testified in the trial, is now 15 and living in another state.

Tappeiner will be placed on the state sex offender registry.