Man climbed in window and sexually assaulted sleeping woman, Lexington County sheriff says
A South Carolina man was arrested on multiple charges Monday after he broke into a home and sexually assaulted a sleeping woman, the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department said.
Terrell Dawaijah Lytes, a 32-year-old Lexington resident, was charged with first-degree burglary and first-degree criminal sexual conduct, the sheriff’s department said in a news release.
Bond was denied on the burglary charge, and Lytes remains behind bars in the Lexington County Detention Center, jail records show.
The break-in happened early Monday morning at a David Lane home in the Red Bank area, according to the release. That’s about 1.5 miles from Exit 55 on Interstate 20.
“Based on information detectives have gathered during their investigation, Lytes entered a house ... through a bedroom window,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said in the release.
The woman’s husband tackled the intruder before Lytes ran out of the house, according to Koon.
“Deputies eventually located Lytes near the home and matched him to the identification card found inside a backpack Lytes left in the bedroom,” Koon said. “Lytes was taken into custody and transported to the Lexington County Detention Center.”
Information on the woman’s medical condition was not available.
There was no word on a motive for the crimes.
Lytes, who is listed as a David Lane resident, has been arrested on more than 20 charges in Lexington County since 2009, court records show. That includes a May 2021 arrest on a grand larceny charge that Lytes ultimately pleaded guilty to, and he was sentenced to 40 months in prison, according to court records.
If convicted on the new first-degree burglary charge, Lytes faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, and no less than 15 years behind bars, according to South Carolina law. A conviction on the new felony criminal sexual conduct charge would mean a maximum punishment of 30 years in prison, according to South Carolina law.
Lytes is not currently listed on the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division’s sex offender registry.
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This story was originally published October 4, 2023 at 8:30 AM with the headline "Man climbed in window and sexually assaulted sleeping woman, Lexington County sheriff says."
