Walterboro man pleads guilty to sexual assault of 6-year-old boy

A Walterboro man was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Friday after pleading guilty to the sexual assault of a 6-year-old boy two years ago, according to a news release from the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

Ronald Kyle Harvey, 21, had been charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

The news release said Harvey had been scheduled to stand trial in Colleton County next week.

The assault occurred over the Thanksgiving holiday at a Walterboro home where several relatives were staying, the news release said.

A relative was awakened by a scream and found Harvey in the living room “fidgeting with his pants” and crouched over the the boy, who was crying about 1 a.m. Nov. 23, 2016, the news release said.

A video posted on Facebook by the Solictor’s Office said the relative was the boy’s grandmother.

The boy told the woman that Harvey sexually assaulted him, and police were called. A medical exam backed up the boy’s allegation, according to the release.

The boy also alleged that Harvey had sexually assaulted him before, as well as making him watch porn and touch Harvey’s genitals, the release said.

After Harvey’s arrest, the man denied the sexual assault and told a Colleton County Sheriff’s Office investigator that he had been drinking that night, the video said.

“He admitted he ‘might have’ fondled the boy while trying to adjust the covers around him,” the news release said.