, age 44, pled guilty to two counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct in the Second Degree on Thursday, May 22, in Lexington County General Sessions Court. The Honorable Benjamin Culbertson sentenced Velasquez-Rocha to 20 years in prison. Under South Carolina law, Criminal Sexual Conduct in the Second Degree is classified as a violent crime and will require Velasquez-Rocha to register as a sex offender upon his release.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant Solicitor Whitney Taylor and investigated by the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.

On May 2, 2022, the Lexington County Sheriffs Department responded to a report of a sexual assault that had occurred in Lexington County. Upon conducting an investigation, law enforcement determined that two minor females had been sexually abused by Juan Isidro Velasquez-Rocha. The victims were eleven and fifteen years old at the time of the disclosure and the sexual abuse had occurred over the span of several years. The investigation revealed photographic evidence of Velasquez-Rocha committing the assaults.

Valasquez-Rocha has now been transported to the South Carolina Department of Corrections to begin serving his sentence.