Sweat gets 110 years in prison - The Item

Date Published: March 11, 2008

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Sweat gets 110 years in prison

26-year-old pleads guilty to role in '06 assaults

By SHARRON HALEY
Item Staff Writer

MANNING — A 26-year-old Manning man was sentenced Monday to 110 years in prison for his role in sexual assaults on a 15-year-old Manning girl and a 45-year-old Summerton woman during the summer of 2006.

SWEAT

Wearing an orange jumpsuit, handcuffs and arm and leg shackles, Jeremy Shay Sweat appeared before 3rd Circuit Judge George C. "Buck" James Jr. at the Clarendon County Courthouse and pleaded guilty to assault and battery with intent to kill, two counts of kidnapping and two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and assault for the July 3, 2006, assault on the teen and the June 20, 2006, assault on the Summerton woman.

When the charges against Sweat were read in court, 3rd Circuit Assistant Solicitor Amy Land and Sweat's court-appointed attorney, Harry Devoe, said they had discussed a sentence cap of 40 years for all five charges; however, James told Sweat that he was not obligated to follow the suggested sentence.

"You do know that even though there is a recommended 40-year cap, in theory, I could sentence you to 140 years in prison," James told Sweat.

"Yes, sir," Sweat responded.

For almost two hours in a heavily guarded courtroom, the court heard details of the two assaults from Land, Devoe and Sweat. At one point when Sweat appeared confused, James recessed court for 20 minutes for Sweat to talk with Devoe.

Reading from a transcript of remarks Sweat made to Clarendon County investigators about the June 20 assault, Land read, "I did torture her. I poured bleach on her."

Within minutes of Land's description of how Sweat and his co-defendant, Dustin L. Evans, whose case has not yet been heard in court, assaulted the now 47-year-old Summerton woman, she burst out with "Oh, God!" and leaned her head back on the chair before deputies escorted her from the courtroom.

Sweat admitted to James that he stabbed the youngest victim with a pocket knife.

Standing beside her mother in the courtroom, the teenage victim told the court, "You're not supposed to rape people or stab people. He wouldn't like it if it happened to his mother, his sister or his daughter if he had one."

The younger victim's grandmother asked the judge to keep Sweat in prison until he was too old to hurt anyone else.

"Don't allow (him) to mix with human lives," she asked the court. "(He doesn't) belong in free society."

Devoe called Sweat "the follower" and Evans "the leader."

Sweat said he wanted to apologize to the families.

"I feel sorry for it," he said. "I'm real sorry for every minute of it. It has been hard on me, too, your honor."

Wiping tears from his eyes, Sweat told James, "I've asked for forgiveness. I regret it ever happened. I regret meeting Dustin."

Before handing down his sentence, James said, "You do feel remorse. The requested 40-year cap, I'm not obligated to follow that. The victims need some consideration."

For the attack on the teen, James sentenced Sweat to 30 years on the kidnapping charge, 30 years on the criminal sexual conduct-first degree charge and 20 years on the assault and battery with intent to kill charge, all to run consecutively.

For the attack on the Summerton woman, James sentenced Sweat to 30 years on both the kidnapping and the first degree-criminal sexual conduct charges. Those charges will run concurrently.

After the sentencing, the youngest victim's grandmother said, "I think the judge's ruling was fair. (Sweat) had a choice and he chose this."

No trial date for Evans has been set.

Contact Staff Writer Sharron Haley at shaley@theitem.com or (803) 435-8511.