RAVENEL, S.C. (WCIV) — A Ravenel man charged with kidnapping and sex assault in 2015 has pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.
According to Solicitor Scarlett Wilson, Gussie Hilton, Jr. was sentenced to life in prison for Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor in the First Degree. He will also serve a consecutive thirty years for Criminal Sexual Conduct in the First Degree, and thirty years each for three Kidnappings.
Hilton pleaded guilty to the crimes on Thursday.
According to a release from the solicitor, Hilton sexually assaulted a six-year-old girl "after telling her he would make her a big girl that day."
He then left her alone in his house while he gave a ride to a mother and her 13-year-old daughter to North Charleston.
They said Hilton pulled over near a wooded area off Ellington School Road, forced the mother to take off all of her clothes at knifepoint, bound the thirteen-year old's hands with tape, and made them walk into the woods.
The mother escaped to get help but Hilton sexually assaulted the young girl, "indicating that he wanted her to have his baby."
The mother was able to call 911, and K-9 officers tracked Hilton about a mile into the woods where they found him and the girl. Deputies say once Hilton was in custody, he confessed to also sexually assaulting another 6-year-old girl earlier in the day at a Martin Street home in Ravenel.
"The horrors that these young girls faced is unimaginable," said Prosecutor Jennifer Kneece Shealy. "We are grateful that they will never have to see him again. Criminal sexual conduct and Kidnapping are designated as 'violent' crimes, and given the age of the children and the violent and perverse nature of these facts, a life sentence is appropriate."