Guilty Plea for Having Child Porn
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IN SPORTS: Lakewood baseball looks to get healthy, compete for region title B1 THE CLARENDON SUN County to borrow more money for human services building A6 THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017 | Serving South Carolina since October 15, 1894 75 cents Guilty plea for having child porn He pleaded guilty to know- taining illegal not exclusively. ducting sexual acts but said Court-martial ingly possessing pornograph- images. He said Jones said he knew there he could tell the images were ic images of minors between he would delete would be a high potential for of a sexual nature because of July 2015 and February 2016 folders when it illegal content to be included the poses and where the cam- for Jones set to after requesting a trial by mil- became apparent in the downloaded series but eras were focused. itary judge, meaning no jury that the images there was no way to separate Jones said he could not re- continue today will be present. JONES were not what he the illegal and legal contents. call the details of the videos During the court-martial, wanted. He also He told the military judge he saw but said the females BY ADRIENNE SARVIS Jones, who has served 24 ac- admitted that he that he was intoxicated on may have done suggestive ges- [email protected] tive-duty years with the U.S. did not delete the entire series most of the occasions when tures and poses. He said he Air Force, told Military Judge of photos in most cases and he was searching for pornog- also could not recall how long Col. William R. Jones, for- J. Wesley Moore that he came said a small percentage of the raphy but that did not affect he kept some of the images mer vice commander of the across the illegal images pornography that he pos- his judgment overall. and videos before he deleted 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air while he was looking for adult sessed contained minors. He said the illegal images them. Force Base, pleaded guilty to pornography. Jones said he used search he saw depicted females who Kevin Atkins, a special in- wrongfully possessing images Jones said when he down- phrases such as “hot women, appeared to be between 10 vestigator with the South Caro- and videos of child pornogra- loaded files onto his comput- young girls and teen.” He said years old and their early 20s lina Attorney General’s Office phy during the first day of his er, some data came individu- he also used a few search clothed and nude acting coyly. court-martial at the base on ally and other data came in a terms that could be associated He said he did not see any Wednesday morning. series in folders, some con- with child pornography but images of the females con- SEE GUILTY, PAGE A9 The next Garry Kasparov? RICK CARPENTER / THE SUMTER ITEM Financial consultant Scott Allan makes a point during the Sumter School District Board of Trustees’ meeting on Monday at Mayewood Middle School. Moody’s lowers credit rating of school district BY BRUCE MILLS RICK CARPENTER / THE SUMTER ITEM [email protected] Carter Gulootti, 9, right, illustrates a move by Murray Taylor, 11, left, during a South Carolina Independent School Associa- tion Chess Tournament on Tuesday at the Sumter County Civic Center. Gulootti, of Pinewood Prep School, and Taylor, of A leading international credit rating Dorchester Academy, were two of more than 100 participants in the elementary and middle school tournament. agency has downgraded Sumter School District’s bond credit rating by one tier, or level, as a result of the district’s current weakened financial position, according to the financial consultant working with the district. Community Funeral Home auctioned off School finance consultant Scott Allan made the remarks Monday night in his update to the Sumter School District Former owner given 6 Board of Trustees at its regularly sched- uled meeting at Mayewood Middle School. months to buy it back Moody’s, a credit rating service, down- graded the district’s bond credit rating BY BRUCE MILLS from A3 to Baa1. According to Moody’s, [email protected] an A3 investment grade is the lowest rat- ing in the upper-medium grade category David Tompkins says expansion and the debtor is subject to low credit is a great thing. risk; Baa1 is the highest rating in the me- On Wednesday, his dium grade category and the debtor is Columbia-based funer- subject to moderate risk. al home business pur- According to Allan, Moody’s rating chased the former opinion was based on its evaluation of the Community Funeral district’s fund balance and fiscal year 2016 Home, at 353 Manning financial audit, among other items. Ave. The sale was part “The downgrade means our interest TOMPKINS of a public auction rates are going to be higher,” Allan said. conducted by the In- “We don’t have the creditworthiness that ternal Revenue Service after the BRUCE MILLS / THE SUMTER ITEM IRS liquidation specialist Richard Andrews auctions off personal property to bid- SEE AUCTIONED, PAGE A9 ders Wednesday at the former Community Funeral Home. SEE CREDIT, PAGE A9 VISIT US ONLINE AT CONTACT US DEATHS, B3, B4 WEATHER, A12 INSIDE Information: 774-1200 John H. McJunkin Jessie L. Jenkins Daniel McFadden SUNSHINE 2 SECTIONS, 18 PAGES VOL. 122, NO. 109 the .com Advertising: 774-1246 Samuel D. Baker Caleen S. Watts Jay Fortune Classifieds: 774-1234 Cool with plenty Delivery: 774-1258 DesJuan M. Lemon Gloria J. Rouse Annie B. Singleton of sun. Tonight, Classifieds B6 News and Sports: 774-1226 Alfred Singleton Larry R. Carroll James B. Harper clear and cold. Comics B5 Willie L. Hardy Sr. Connelly O. Baker Patrick J. Brady HIGH 54, LOW 29 Opinion A11 Beatrix Bagnal Television A10 A2 | THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017 THE SUMTER ITEM Call: (803) 774-1226 | E-mail: [email protected] Library features author of ‘Prison Grits’ BY IVY MOORE prison ... as an employee. Through there will be a reception and book [email protected] prison riots, contraband deliveries signing, and her audience will have and assaults, three women learn the opportunity to talk with Bell Tales of life in prison will be the about the politics of prison and how about her 20 years of experience at topic at the 2017 Friends of the Sum- it mirrors their own the prison, including her relation- ter County Library Author Event on small-town lives.” ships with prisoners and guards. She Sunday, March 26. The presentation Except for the track- may also talk about her current will not be made by former inmates, ing of “gang activities, work in progress, also dealing with but will feature Sumter writer Jean escape prevention and tales of life working in a maximum Bell, known to her hometown friends apprehension” and such security prison. as “Peg.” things. Bell’s characters, Books will be available for pur- Bell retired after more than 20 Mrs. Kelly, Wilma and chase, and refreshments will be years as head of security in South BELL Faith, respond to em- served. “Prison Grits” is in paper- Carolina’s largest maximum securi- ployment in the prison back format and sells for $15. Ad- ty prison, so her fictional short sto- in their own ways. While the stories mission is free, and the public is in- ries are based in real life experi- can be enjoyed individually, they vited to attend the author event ence. Although she’s won awards for also read like a novel. with Jean Bell at 3 p.m. Sunday, her essays and short fiction, “Prison “Prison Grits” is also suspenseful, March 26, at the main Sumter Coun- Grits” is her first collection in book and its characters in prison uni- ty Library, 111 N. Harvin St. The form. forms represent the dangers inher- event is sponsored by the Friends of PHOTO PROVIDED Reviewer Susan Doherty Osteen ent in undertaking jobs among that the Sumter County Library. For Author Jean Bell will be the featured writ- described Bell’s story as being “ ... population. more information, call the library at er at the Friends of the Sumter County Li- about the grit it takes to survive Following Bell’s presentation, (803) 773-7273. brary 2017 Author Event. LOCAL BRIEFS Bates Spanish Club gets lesson from Venezuela FROM STAFF REPORTS Spanish Club members at Bates Middle School were treated to traditional music and food from Venezuela during their meeting on Friday. Emilio Reyes, father of Bates Middle School student Mariana Reyes-Parra, played Police seeking man various traditional after armed robbery joropo music from their native country Sumter Police Department Venezuela. Joropo is detectives are working to iden- defined as musical style tify a man wanted in connec- resembling the tion to the armed robbery of fandango. It has African, an individual Monday. Native South American, The incident happened after 3 and European p.m. in the 1000 block of Broad influences and Street, according to information originated in the plains released from the department. called “Los Llanos” of The robber was described as what is now Venezuela in his 50s, about 5 and Colombia. It is a feet 9 inches tall fundamental genre of and about 175 música criolla (creole pounds. He has music). Students also scruffy gray hair had an opportunity to on his face and taste arepas, a type of the sides of his food that resemble SUSPECT head, and he is tortillas. These are bald on the top. made out of maize and The department released a composite drawing of the sus- can be filled with pect.