Beaufort County man charged with two counts of child sexual conduct, police say

A Saint Helena Island man was charged Wednesday with two counts of criminal sexual conduct with a child under the age of 16, according to Beaufort County jail records.

Derrick George Holmes, 39, was being held in Beaufort County Detention Center Wednesday as he awaited a bond hearing.

Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office was contacted about the assault, which happened at a St. Helena Island hotel, in mid-January, Maj. Bob Bromage said Wednesday.

He said Holmes is an acquaintance of the victim’s family.

Holmes was arrested by Sheriff’s Office deputies and agents with the S.C. Law Enforcement Division fugitive task force on Saint Helena Island.

Holmes has a history of violence, including convictions for assaults. He was sentenced to one year of probation in 2014 after pleading guilty to pointing and presenting a firearm, according to Beaufort County Court records.

A 2013 Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette article says Holmes displayed the firearm to a woman trying to trying to break up an argument he was having with someone else. The story said Holmes fired into the porch and hit the woman with a closed fist three times in the face.

This story was originally published February 12, 2020 at 4:30 PM.