Life plus 15 years in prison for child molester Bryan Jeffrey Ellis after the jury found him guilty of two counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct with a minor yesterday in Lexington County. Deputy Solicitor Suzanne Mayes and Assistant Solicitor La'Jessica Stringfellow handled the prosecution of this case. The child victim was 7 years old when a series of sexual assaults occurred. Following the jury's verdict, Solicitor Rick Hubbard stated, "The loss of innocence is something you can never get back and will not be tolerated in Lexington County. The hard work of law enforcement and our prosecutors, along with the bravery of the little girl, resulted in justice being served." 

Circuit Court Judge R. Knox McMahon, prior to sentencing, remarked that Ellis is a predator. Judge McMahon delivered a sentence that he believed would protect other innocent children in our state. A life sentence with a consecutive 15 year sentence sends a clear message. 

Hubbard further commented, "We will continue fighting for victims of abuse and give voices to the innocent children in our circuit." 

We thank Sgt. Miles Rawl and the Lexington County Sheriff's Department for their work on this case. Sgt. Rawl served as the lead investigator. His efforts and hard work are commendable. He also served as lead investigator in the recent murder cases of Michael Sulier and Charles Morehouse in Lexington County. Sulier was convicted of murder in 2016 and received a life sentence. Morehouse was convicted of murder following a trial in January of 2017 and was also sentenced to life. We also thank the Dickerson Children's Advocacy Center that did a tremendous job in conducting the forensic interview of the child victim.

A collective effort, such as the one we had in this case, led us to justice and putting Ellis in the South Carolina Department of Corrections for the rest of his life. This will be the last time he hurts an innocent little girl.