Jerod Cornelius Simpkins, age 26, pled guilty today in the County of Lexington to Domestic Violence in the First Degree and Unlawful Conduct Towards a Child after his case was called for trial. The Honorable Roger Couch sentenced Simpkins to seven (7) years in prison followed by three (3) years of probation.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant Solicitors Kelly Oppenheimer and Marie Sazehn for the office.

During the hurricane in October of 2018, Deputy Gary Hinton, with the Lexington County Sheriff's Department, promptly responded to a domestic disturbance. On this day, Simpkins and the victim engaged in a verbal altercation that resulted in Simpkins physically assaulting the victim while she was four months pregnant by shoving her to the floor. Simpkins repeatedly struck the victim in the head once she stood up.

During the incident, the victim’s children were present. The eldest child attempted to get help outside of the home. Simpkins chased the minor child, grabbed her, and threw her back into the home causing injury to the child. Simpkins held the victim and the children in the home until one of the children escaped to a neighbor’s house to get help.

Simpkins has a prior criminal history and he was on probation when this occurred. He will be transported to the South Carolina Department of Corrections to begin serving his sentence. #EndDV