Bluffton man charged with ‘inappropriately touching’ minor during burglary of home
A Bluffton man is in custody following an October burglary during which he allegedly “inappropriately touched” a minor inside the home, according to an alert sent Friday morning from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
Carlos Antonio Soto, 21, was charged Thursday with first-degree burglary, third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor and simple larceny, jail records show.
The burglary occurred the morning of Oct. 26 in Plantation Point, a gated community off of U.S. 278 in Bluffton. Police responded to the residence after an occupant reported being awakened by a “strange person” inside the home, according to the alert. Deputies and K-9 units searched the home but did not locate an intruder.
Through the interview process, police discovered that some of the family’s personal belongings were taken and one minor under 16 was “inappropriately touched” by the burglar, according to Maj. Angela Viens, a spokesperson for the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
Police identified Soto as a suspect following a forensic analysis of evidence from the crime scene, according to the alert. He was arrested at his home Thursday evening.
Criminal sexual conduct in the third degree is a felony punishable by imprisonment for up to 10 years, defined in South Carolina’s Code of Laws as using force or coercion to commit unwanted sexual acts on another person. Burglary in the first degree is a felony punishable by life imprisonment.
Soto was in custody at the Beaufort County Detention Center as of 10:30 Friday morning, jail records show.
This story was originally published November 11, 2022 at 11:16 AM.
