Attorney General Alan Wilson announces lengthy prison sentences for two people who sexually abused a three-year-old

(GREENVILLE, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced lengthy prison sentences for two people who sexually abused a three-year-old child.

Today in Greenville County, Judge Patrick Fant III sentenced Jacob Lance to 43 years for Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor, 1^st Degree. That sentence will start after he finishes the sentence he’s already serving, which ends in June 2042. That means the 43-year sentence starts in June 2042, taking his sentence to 2085.

Abbygale El-Dier was sentenced to 40 years for Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor, 1^st Degree, and two consecutive five-year sentences for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, 1^st Degree, for a total sentence of 50 years.

El-Dier, a citizen of Greenville County, and Jacob Lance, a South Carolina Department of Corrections inmate, began a romantic relationship with each other, enabled by the use of illegal contraband cell phones. The defendants then, through the use of these contraband cell phones, sexually assaulted the then 3-year-old minor victim, photographing, live streaming, and video recording the acts. These acts were physically performed by El-Dier and allegedly done at the contemporaneous direction and encouragement of Lance, and the materials were shared with him in real time via transmitted pictures, video, and live streaming. 

The State Grand Jury indicted Lance and El-Dier as part of "Operation Clean Sweep," an investigation into the Lee Correctional Institution, involving allegations of sexual abuse of a minor victim, the production of child sexual abuse material, and public corruption.