Attorney General Alan Wilson announces Darlington County man sentenced to 10 years in prison for crimes against minor

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that Stephen Howard Dial, Jr. pleaded guilty on May 19, 2022, to one count of Criminal Solicitation of a Minor and one count of Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor.

On November 30, 2020, the male victim reported to the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office that Dial made sexual advances toward him, engaged him in sexual activity, and provided him with marijuana and alcohol. Dial communicated with the victim for the purposes of soliciting him for sexual activity via social media and text messaging applications. These offenses occurred between May 2016 and December 2019, beginning when the victim was approximately 13 years old and Dial was 32 years old.  

The Honorable Michael G. Nettles sentenced Dial to 10 years in prison for Criminal Solicitation of a Minor and three years in prison for Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor, with credit for 531 days already served. Both sentences are to be served at the same time. He consented to the forfeiture of his electronic device and, upon his release, will be required to register as a sex offender.