Child Sexual Assault Perpetrator Gets Forty-Five Years

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A Newberry County, South Carolina man received a forty-five year prison sentence on Tuesday morning after pleading guilty to one count of criminal sexual assault of a minor – and five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.

Martin Lee Dickert, 40, of Whitmire, S.C., pleaded guilty just moments before his trial was set to commence in Newberry, S.C.

According to a news release from the office of S.C. attorney general Alan Wilson, Dickert’s plea “was entered after a jury was seated and after pretrial motions were heard in anticipation of a trial.” In other words, when things were about to get real.

The charges against Dickert stem from an incident which took place on  September 18, 2020 when Dickert was “babysitting” several children in Newberry County.

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“Dickert recorded videos of a four-year-old girl’s private parts, including some in which he was touching her,” the release noted. “In the videos, you can hear the victim’s screams and cries, and she made several attempts to push Dickert off of her as he was telling her to be quiet.”

The victim immediately informed her mother of what happened, and the mother called the Newberry County sheriff’s office. During a forensic interview, the victim disclosed details of the assault – while Dickens’ cell phone was obtained by the Whitmire police department and turned over to Newberry deputies.

During a review of the device undertaken with Dickert’s consent, “44 images, including over 30 videos, of the victim were located.” Confronted with this evidence, Dickert “confessed that he made the recordings of the victim.”

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S.C. circuit court judge Eugene C. Griffith Jr. sentenced Dickert to ten years on the criminal sexual conduct charge and seven years on each of the five exploitation charges – for a total of forty-five years. While there is no immediate calculation on Dickert’s eligibility for parole, “he will be required to register as a sex offender upon his eventual release and will be subject to lifetime GPS monitoring,” according to the release.

According to Wilson’s office, Dickert’s exploitation offenses are classified as ineligible for parole, according to state statutes. Officials at the S.C. Department of Corrections (SCDC) indicated they would let us known when a parole eligibility calculation had been completed for Dickert.

The case against Dickert was prosecuted by assistant attorneys general Jennifer Wells and Bethany Miles – with support from Glynna Fogle, Trisha Allen, and Savannah Hobbie. The attorney general’s office praised major Robert Dennis and sergeant Casey Rembisz of the Newberry sheriff’s office for leading the criminal inquiry, as well as deputy Devin Kingsmore, investigator sergeant Michael Claytor, sergeant David Lawson, deputy David Brandt, and lieutenant Michael Moss.

Props to all of these law enforcement officers and prosecutors for their work in securing justice for the victim in this case – and for getting a dangerous pedophile off the streets.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.

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