A 19-year-old Hilton Head Island, S.C., man was sentenced to 25 years in prison Monday for molesting a 4-year-old girl last year.
Just before a jury was to be pickedk for his trial, Tyriek Person of Sandalwood Terrace Apartments changed his plea to guilty as charged on one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, said Daniel Brownstein, spokesman for South Carolina’s 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
The victim disclosed the abuse to her mother in August. During a videotaped interview with a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office investigator, Person admitted to molesting the girl, Brownstein said. He had been baby-sitting for the family for two years.
“The child is the bravest person I’ve ever met for coming to court and being willing to testify,” said assistant solicitor Patrick Hall, who prosecuted the case.
Judge D. Craig Brown handed down the sentence. By law, Person must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole or any other early-release mechanism.