A Pickens County jury has convicted 35-year-old Dane Jordan Harris of two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, sentencing him to 13 years in the South Carolina Department of Corrections for abusing a child on multiple occasions in 2023. When Harris eventually completes that sentence, he will be required to register as a sex offender and wear a GPS ankle monitor for the rest of his life.
The 13th Circuit Solicitor's Office announced the conviction, according to a report by FOX Carolina. Trial evidence showed the abuse occurred in 2023, and the case came to light after the victim disclosed what happened to a family member, who then brought the child to the Easley Police Department. That department investigated the case before it was handed to prosecutors for trial.
How the Case Moved Through the Courts
Pickens County sits within South Carolina's 13th Judicial Circuit, which also covers Greenville County and is overseen by Solicitor Walt Wilkins and his team of assistant solicitors, according to Greenville County. Felony cases originating in Easley typically follow this same path: municipal police handle the initial investigation and booking before the circuit solicitor takes the case to the Court of General Sessions, per David R. Price Jr., P.A. This offense is prosecuted in General Sessions, as outlined by the Snell Law Firm.
Harris's 13-year sentence lands near the top of what state law allows. Under South Carolina Code § 16-3-655(C), third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor applies when someone over 14 willfully and lewdly commits or attempts a lewd act on a child under 16 for sexual gratification, and the statute's subsection (C)(4) caps the penalty at up to 15 years per count, according to Justia. The statute lists a possible sentence of up to 15 years for the offense.
Lifetime Monitoring and a No-Contact Order
Jessie's Law applies to certain sex offenders who violate probation, parole, or community-supervision terms. The sentencing order also bars Harris from contacting the victim. The South Carolina Supreme Court has previously upheld this kind of lifetime tracking as a civil regulatory measure rather than criminal punishment, ruling in State v. Dykes and State v. Nation that the requirement does not violate constitutional protections against double jeopardy or ex post facto laws, as reported by Prison Legal News.
The monitoring requirement is not necessarily permanent in every sense. State law allows someone under a lifetime GPS order to petition for release after 10 years. South Carolina also made sex-offender registry changes in 2022 through H. 4075.
The 13th Circuit Solicitor's Office prosecuted Harris's case in Pickens County.
