Nude Beaufort man charged with sexual assault after barging into home, hotel, police say
Editor’s note: Thirteen of the charges noted in the following story were dismissed May 21, 2021, because the defendant completed a pre-trial intervention program, according to documents filed in Oconee County, South Carolina, related to a request to expunge arrest records. Two other charges were either dismissed or the defendant was found not guilty on Dec. 14, 2020.
This story originally was published on Feb. 9, 2020.
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A 21-year-old Beaufort man is facing up to 15 felony and misdemeanor charges after police say he physically and sexually assaulted two people after breaking into a home and hotel early Saturday morning in Walhalla.
The man remains in the Oconee County Detention Center on charges that include first-degree burglary, third-degree assault and battery, third-degree criminal sexual conduct, indecent exposure and assault of a law enforcement officer, an Oconee County Sheriff’s Office release says.
On Saturday, deputies responded to a 4:36 a.m. report of a nude man causing a disturbance outside of Epoch Apartment Complex.
A man at the complex told police that a man later identified as the suspect had entered the apartment after beating on the door. He then assaulted the apartment tenant by slapping him with an open hand as he attempted a sexual assault before fleeing, the release and arrest warrant says.
The arrest warrant says the man broke a computer desk chair and vacuum while using both to break down an interior door at the apartment. The damage to the two items and door totals less than $2,000, the warrant says.
As police were investigating the apartment complex assault, deputies responded to a physical and sexual assault at the nearby True by Hilton hotel on Clemson Boulevard.
Deputies discovered the man had entered the hotel, still nude, and slapped a female victim at the business with the back of his hand, the arrest warrant says. It says he ordered the victim to perform oral sex as he fondled himself.
Arrest warrants also say the man kicked a deputy in the chest and face multiple times during the arrest.
This story was originally published February 9, 2020 at 2:33 PM.