SPARTANBURG COUNTY, SC (WSPA) – A South Carolina minister arrested on charges after he admitted to having sex and impregnating a teenage girl pleaded guilty to child sex crimes on Monday.
Phillip Jerard Buckson pleaded guilty to two counts each of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor 11 to 14 years old.
In February, investigators spoke with a victim who said claimed she engaged in sexual activity with Buckson starting in 2015.
The victim told investigators that she had become pregnant on two occasions and said she had two abortions to terminate both pregnancies.
According to the S.C. Attorney General’s Office, his two other counts of the same crime were dismissed.
Buckson was sentenced to 20 years in prison, suspended to 10 years and five years of probation.
He is also required to register as a sex offender and was ordered to have no contact with the victim.
According to South Carolina Department of Corrections records, Buckson entered prison on Wednesday.
In our earlier report, Buckson was listed as a pastor at Cleveland Chapel Baptist Church in Spartanburg County.
