BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. – A judge sentenced a Berkeley County man to the maximum sentence after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl, according to the First Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
Terry Kostelak, 29, of Goose Creek, pleaded guilty to one count of criminal sexual conduct with a minor in the second degree and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor in the third degree.
Judge Heath Taylor sentenced Kostelak to 20 years for the sexual assault charge and a concurrent sentence of ten years for the exploitation of a minor charge.
When he was 25-years-old, Kostelak sought out a 13-year-old child on social media and began a sexual relationship with the child, the solicitor’s office said.
Authorities said Kostelak snuck into the minor’s home on multiple occasions over an 18-month period and sexually assaulted the child.
In the course of their investigation, law enforcement was able to obtain numerous video and audio files depicting Kostelak performing sexual acts with the minor child. Kostelak was reported to law enforcement after the child’s mother discovered messages that had been sent between Kostelak and the child.
“In our courts, we are constantly reminded of how unsafe our children are online. We encourage parents to proactively monitor their children’s cellular phones as well as their social media presence. Predators are looking for unsupervised minors, and we must do what we can to ensure children in our communities are safe in their homes again,” said First Assistant Solicitor Kelly LaPlante.
Solicitor Pascoe thanked Detective Leta Boehler as well as the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office for their thorough investigation of this case.
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