OCONEE COUNTY — Oconee authorities have arrested a Westminster man and charged him with committing lewd acts on a young girl from his church.
Don Mark Holbrooks, 39, of Hal Holbrooks Road in Westminster was charged Wednesday following an investigation initiated when the child’s father reported a four-month relationship that, according to reports, involved frequent communication by way of cell phone text messages.
According to investigators, the child reported she and Holbrooks had exchanged nude photographs of each other using cell phones and had discussed sexual matters in addition to matters concerning school and the church.
The investigators also reported the child said she and Holbrooks had kissed on numerous occasions and that “he had touched her privates.”
According to the specifics of the charge against Holbrooks, the child is younger than 16.
Holbrooks was released from the Oconee County Detention Center Thursday on a $25,000 surety bond.
According to the U.S. Justice Department, incidents of what has been dubbed “sexting,” the use of text messages and cell phone cameras to transmit sexual material, is on the rise and is creating new shades of criminal acts.
In some cases, when one of the parties involved in the sexting of photographs is under legal age, state and federal prosecutors have brought charges of transmitting child pornography.
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Comments » 5
Calcal writes:
How discussing is this story. People like this make me sick. In church doing this sort of thing.
Problem is he probably want get any time and will do it again.
TrueAndersonian writes:
Your grammer is terrible, but I think I get what you are saying and I agree 100%. This guy should be put in prison (general population) for as many years as this child is old.
hadmopoo writes:
Please check your spelling before you try to correct someone else. (grammAr)
baitbucket writes:
Don't get me wrong, what this guy is accused of doing is not good - but does it really matter where it was done? I mean, if they met and communicated at Wal-Mart - would that make it better since it wasn't at church? Good grief, people, in this case, of what relevance is the location of the crime?
route66 writes:
This man if he can be called that was a deacon of this church served on the pulpit committe brother to the county planning director and lifelong member of our community I went to church , school, etc with his brothers and sister he is a sick person whom i hope is punished fully. he is also a married father and a member of mt. pleasant baptist church where the child also was from.
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