YORK COUNTY, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A Chester County church leader has been charged with sexual assault with a minor, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
According to the warrant, William Pinckney Carpenter III, 63, sexually assaulted a girl around the fall of 2017 to the spring of 2018, who was 8 or 9 years old at the time.
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During a bus ride for a church program, Carpenter sat next to the victim and inappropriately touched her over her clothes, officials said.
In an interview, the victim said Carpenter was missing one of his fingers, which she later identified to be his left thumb during a follow-up interview on Jan. 24, 2023.
SLED officials said the victim was also able to positively identify Carpenter from a photo lineup.
Carpenter is charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor and was booked into the York County Detention Center on Monday, Sept. 25.
The case will be prosecuted by the 16th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
