Rape leads to life sentence

A man received a life sentence without the possibility of parole this week after a jury convicted him of raping a woman in downtown Charleston more than two years ago, the 9th Circuit Solicitor's Office said.

Daniel Jerome Jenkins, 48, already had spent a large part of his adult life in prison for felony convictions when Charleston police arrested him on a charge of first-degree criminal sexual conduct.

His record extends to 1978, when he received 24 years for a previous conviction on the same charge, according to the Solicitor's Office. He didn't serve the full sentence then or when he accrued other serious charges.

"Daniel Jenkins is the poster boy for no parole," Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said in a release. "Finally, we can rest assured that he will never hurt another innocent victim in Charleston County, or anywhere else for that matter."

The charge that should send him away for good, barring a successful appeal, stemmed from an attack on April 5, 2006. Prosecutors said Jenkins forced his way into the Huger Street home of a 31-year-old woman and sexually assaulted her.

He beat her head and face with a glass ashtray, then stole her cell phone before leaving, prosecutors said.

Charleston County Clerk of Court records show that police arrested him the same day.

On Wednesday, a Charleston County jury spent less than two hours before finding Jenkins guilty of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, prosecutors said. The trial lasted three days.

Assistant Solicitor Chad Simpson called the verdict a big victory for the Solicitor's Office and the people of Charleston. The real credit, Simpson said, lies with the victim, "who showed a great amount of courage in going forward with the trial."

Jenkins' record also includes a charge of carjacking in 1993, plus charges of strong-arm robbery and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature in 2001, prosecutors said.

He received sentences of nine and 10 years, respectively. He also was convicted twice of failing to register as a sex offender.