’Everybody is so on edge’: Alleged child predator’s behavior leads parents to fight back
Residents of the West Ridge housing complex in Conway have had to change routines. Everybody is now looking over their shoulder. Even the children playing outside make sure an object they can use as a weapon is close.
All because of the alleged actions of one man.
“The kids are scared to go outside and play,” a resident said. “Everybody is so on edge.”
Stephen Ray Jordan, 67, was charged in May with third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor. An arrest warrant states Jordan told officers there was a previous incident with a 6-year-old girl at his old residence on Wildflower Trail. That road is near Carolina Forest High School. The arrest report doesn’t provide details or insight into the incident with the child that led to his criminal sexual conduct charge.
Jordan has been charged but not convicted. He is free on $10,000 bond.
Jordan now lives in an apartment complex near the Conway Medical Center. In some cases, areas of the apartment complex are just feet away from the backyards of homes in the West Ridge subdivision.
Residents of West Ridge said Jordan terrorized their neighborhood while on bond describing his behavior as “creepy,” “uncomfortable” and “scary.”
Because of his reported behavior, prosecutors tried to revoke Jordan’s bond during a hearing in Horry County Circuit Court this week. Instead of sending Jordan to jail, solicitors and defense attorneys reached a last-minute agreement that required Jordan to find a new living location within two weeks, not have contact with some families in West Ridge and other conditions.
The Sun News reached out to Jordan’s attorneys, but they did not respond for comment.
One woman, who is a mother of three children, spoke to The Sun News but didn’t provide her name. The Sun News does not typically use unnamed sources in a story, but agreed not to identify the woman given the sensitive nature of the situation. She said neighbors learned of Jordan the day after Christmas.
He was spotted riding a bike near the homes and went to an area where kids were playing and asked about a specific girl, she said.
Residents quickly learned that it wasn’t the first time Jordan allegedly interacted with kids. Other kids said they had seen him. Parents said they had previous run-ins. One 11-year-old — the one Jordan asked about at the playground — said Jordan tried to give her a card with money.
“I’m a Momma Bear,” said Heather Christian, mother to the 11-year-old. “I’m mad.” Christian told The Sun News she did not mind being identified.
It’s an anger that extends beyond protecting her four children, Christian said. It’s for all the kids in the neighborhood.
Residents said they approached Jordan to ask him to stop hanging around, but they said he didn’t. Locals called the police, who they believe weren’t aware of his pending case. An officer spoke to him, and the families say Jordan told the officer he just wanted to apologize.
The behavior residents described as “creepy” allegedly continued in the quiet neighborhood despite repeated confrontations with parents.
“The word ‘no’ has no bearing on him,” Christian said.
Christian added she now carries a Taser at all times, and the kids don’t want to be outside alone.
“It just changes the routine of everything, my kids don’t feel safe walking home,” she said.
There is some relief knowing he will be required to live somewhere else, but he could always return, she said. She also is fearful for whatever community Jordan moves to next.
“His behavior is not acceptable to me as a parent,” Christian said. “It makes me uncomfortable.”
This story was originally published January 16, 2019 at 8:46 AM.
