Brutal Halloween sexual assault, kidnapping of woman lands Loris man years in prison
A Loris man who was involved in a brutal kidnapping and sexual assault of a woman on Halloween in 2021 will spend 20 years in prison.
Mije Basnight, 18, pleaded guilty Wednesday to kidnapping, armed robbery and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, according to the Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson’s Office.
The incident happened at the Cove Apartments along S.C. 544 in Conway.
The victim told police she was sitting in her car in a parking lot when two men approached and opened her car door. Basnight held the victim at gunpoint while the other man, Ja’Rael Warren, sexually assaulted her.
According to a Conway Police report, Warren forcibly shoved the victim into the back of the vehicle at gunpoint. The victim was choked, hit in the face with a pistol and was told she would be killed if she struggled. The victim was then sexually assaulted.
The police report also said that the two men stole the woman’s vehicle, striking her with the rear of the vehicle in the process. The victim landed on the trunk. The defendants then drove down S.C. 544 at a high-rate of speed, conducting various maneuvers, such as hitting the curb, to cause the victim to be thrown off the vehicle.
The two men also stole personal items during the incident.
Basnight will not be eligible for parole and will be required to register as a sex offender.
Basnight was originally charged as a juvenile, committing the crimes when he was 16, but a judge ordered that he be tried as an adult.
Warren pleaded guilty in May and received a 30-year sentence for his role in the crimes.
This story was originally published July 27, 2023 at 4:28 PM.
