Former high school volunteer pleads guilty to sexually assaulting student

YORK COUNTY, S.C. — A former volunteer high school coach will be out of prison in less than a year after pleading guilty Thursday to sexual assault on a 16-year-old student.

[ALSO READ: New safety measures in place at high school in Rock Hill]

Brant Logan Sexton, 21, claimed the sexual encounter he had with the student in December was consensual. However, the victim adamantly said it was not.

Sexton was a volunteer assistant wrestling coach at Rock Hill High School.

The incident happened at Sexton's home on Hopewell Road during the Christmas break. There were no reports of an incident at the school.

He was in court Thursday to plead guilty to a charge of sexual battery on a student.

Assistant Solicitor Sharon Ohayon read a letter from the victim, who said she struggled because she blamed herself for being raped.

"I often think, ‘If only I hadn't trusted this person. If only I had screamed. If only I hadn't even went to the party to begin with, that maybe, this would not happen to me," the letter said.

The victim said she denied Sexton several times but he sexually assaulted her.

The prosecutor said his position at the high school opened the door to what happened next.

"In my opinion, (he was) definitely using his position as a volunteer wrestling coach to throw parties, get alcohol for kids, get people drunk and then have access to females," Ohayon said.

The victim left the party, went to a nearby gas station on Springdale Road and called 911.

A sheriff's deputy drove her to an emergency room for tests and a rape kit.

Prosecutors, however, said doing the right thing came at a cost. The rumors and gossip on social media and at school were devastating for the victim.

Many sex assault victims don't report the crime out of fear of the fallout, experts say.

Sexton was sentenced under the Youthful Offenders Act. His five-year sentence means he won't serve longer than about nine months in prison before being placed on parole for the remainder of the time.

Sexton won't have to register as a sex offender. However, prosecutors said what he did will affect the rest his life.

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Cox Media Group