CONWAY, SC (WBTW) – A Garden City man will spend 18 years in jail after pleading guilty to assault and attempted rape charges, according to the solicitor’s office.
A press release from the office of 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson, states Scott Welch, 53, of Garden City Beach, pleaded guilty Thursday to assault with intent to commit first-degree criminal sexual conduct and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
Welch was sentenced to serve 18 years in prison for the assault charge and five years for the weapons charge, the release said. The charges will run concurrently.
In February 2015, Welch went into a convenience store in Surfside Beach and ordered the clerk to a back room at gunpoint and told her he was going to rape her, according to the release.
An Horry County Police officer came into the store and when the door chimed, Welch left the room and ran from the store. The officer chased after Welch and caught him.
Video surveillance from the store showed Welch holding the clerk at gunpoint and forcing her into the back room.
“If the Horry County police officer had not happened into the store, this case could have been far worse,” the assistant solicitor stated. “I appreciate the hard work of that officer and the Surfside Beach Police Department in helping to gain justice for the victim in this case.”
