Rock Hill man pleads guilty in child sex abuse case. DNA evidence played key role
A Rock Hill man has been sent to prison for a child sex assault where a DNA match from the defendant was on the victim, according to prosecutors and court records.
The conviction where DNA was found on a child victim is the second in a week in York County court.
In the case Tuesday at the Moss Justice Center, York County Judge Bill McKinnon sentenced Isaac Antwan Pride, 38, to 10 years in prison. Pride pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, said prosecutor Hannah Woods, 16th Circuit senior solicitor.
DNA was important because Pride’s DNA was a match to evidence found on the victim, Woods said.
The maximum penalty in South Carolina for a conviction for the crime is 20 years without parole.
The guilty plea means the victim does not having to testify in a public trial, Woods said.
Pride knew the victim; who was 13 years old at the time of the offense, Woods said. The Herald does not identify victims of sex crimes.
Pride received credit for 880 days in jail after his arrest pending trial. Pride must serve at least 85% of the 10-year sentence, then register as a sex offender upon release, Woods said. Pride is not eligible for parole, Woods said.
Pride pleaded guilty under what is called an Alford plea. In an Alford plea, a defendant pleads guilty but does not have to admit guilt, yet accepts that there is a likelihood of conviction if the case went to trial, Woods said.
Pride’s lawyer, Robert Bruce, did not return a call Thursday seeking comment on the case.
DNA’s role in local court cases
The conviction Tuesday is the second in York County in just days where DNA was used.
Last week, Judge Dan Hall sentenced a different Rock Hill man in an unrelated case to 20 years after a jury guilty verdict in a sex assault on a disabled child. That victim was found by the judge not competent to testify — but DNA of the defendant was found on the victim, prosecutors said.
DNA was also crucial to another recent conviction in a 30-year-old York County cold case where a dead baby was found in the Catawba River 1992.
In that case a newborn was found abandoned on rocks in the river. No arrests were made for decades.
DNA from the mother, who was arrested in an unrelated case in 2019, proved to match the baby’s DNA, prosecutors said in court. The case went to trial in August. In that case Judge McKinnon sentenced the mother to life in prison after a jury’s guilty verdict of homicide by child abuse.
In Charlotte, officials said in late 2023, DNA results helped identify cold case victims and suspects from cases that dated back as long as 40 years, the Charlotte Observer reported.
