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Press Release
Charleston, South Carolina --- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Thomas Lawton Evans Jr., 37, of Boiling Springs, South Carolina, pled guilty to all counts contained in a three count federal indictment. Count One charged Kidnapping Involving a Person Under the Age of 18, a violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1201(a)(1) and (g), punishable by a minimum term of imprisonment of 20 years and up to life. Count Two charged Transportation of a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2423(a), punishable by a minimum of 10 years imprisonment and up to life. Count Three charged Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Person under the age of Twelve, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2241(c), punishable by a minimum term of imprisonment of 30 years and a maximum sentence of life. United States District Court Judge David Norton will sentence Evans at a later date.
Facts presented at Evans’ guilty plea hearing established that Evans followed a family into their Johns Island, South Carolina, home on February 13, 2018 and brutally assaulted and injured an adult resident and kidnapped her four-year-old daughter. Evans then took the child to Alabama, where the child was recovered by the Riverside Police Department. Evans was arrested later the same day in Jackson, Mississippi, after a police pursuit.
The convictions are the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Charleston Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Nathan Williams and Nick Bianchi are prosecuting the case.
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Nathan Williams (843) 266-1671