A Darlington County magistrate set a total bond of $144,500 for Juawon Sumter on Tuesday, a day after deputies booked him into the county jail on eight felony counts tied to the alleged confinement and sexual assault of a juvenile in the rural town of Lamar. The bond breaks down to $10,000 apiece for four kidnapping charges, $30,000 apiece for two first-degree criminal sexual conduct charges, and $22,250 apiece for two second-degree criminal sexual conduct charges.
According to WMBF, Darlington County deputies arrested Sumter on October 5 and Sheriff Michael August announced the arrest the following day, saying deputies had charged him with kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct. Deputies told the outlet they determined Sumter allegedly forced sexual intercourse with the victim several times. The sheriff's office had been notified of a sexual assault involving a juvenile victim on September 21.
Investigators determined the juvenile was allegedly held against their will at Sumter's residence in the Lamar area from September 18 through September 20, according to the News & Press, with law enforcement receiving initial notification the day after that window closed. That timeline means the sheriff's office spent roughly two weeks investigating before moving to arrest Sumter earlier this month.
Charges Carry Decades of Potential Prison Time
Sumter's legal exposure is substantial under state law. Criminal Sexual Conduct in the First Degree is a felony carrying up to 30 years in prison for each count upon conviction, per South Carolina Code § 16-3-652, as laid out by the South Carolina Code of Laws. Second-degree criminal sexual conduct, charged under § 16-3-653, is a Class C felony punishable by up to 20 years per count.
The kidnapping counts carry their own steep penalties. South Carolina Code § 16-3-910 classifies kidnapping as a felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison for each count, and all three offense types named in Sumter's case — first-degree CSC, second-degree CSC, and kidnapping — are explicitly classified as violent crimes under § 16-1-60, a designation that affects sentencing guidelines and parole eligibility.
South Carolina Code § 16-3-730 strictly prohibits public officials and media entities from publishing the name or identity of any victim of criminal sexual conduct, which is why no identifying details about the juvenile have been released. Sumter awaits a bond hearing and remains held at the W. Glenn Campbell Detention Center in Darlington.
A Detention Center Already Under Scrutiny
The facility housing Sumter has faced its own troubles in recent weeks. In September, a shift supervisor at the detention center was fired and charged with misconduct for smuggling contraband to inmates, according to WAND-TV, marking one of multiple contraband-related staff arrests at the facility in recent years.
Sheriff August took office in January 2025 after winning the November 2024 election, bringing more than 30 years of law enforcement experience to an agency he now leads following a campaign built on a proactive stance against local crime, the same News & Press report notes. Lamar, where the alleged confinement occurred, is a rural municipality of roughly 1.2 square miles in southwestern Darlington County with a population of 862 as of the 2020 Census, situated about 14 miles southwest of the county seat.
The investigation remains active, and the charges against Sumter are accusations that have not been proven in court.
