Lancaster man sentenced to 12 years for choking ex-wife

A Lancaster man was sentenced to 12 years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to choking his ex-wife in front of their daughter, according to the 6th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

Steven LaMont Williams, 53, pleaded guilty to criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, court records show. Circuit Court Judge Brian Gibbons sentenced him to 12 years in prison.

Williams was sentenced under new domestic violence laws enacted last June in South Carolina, Solicitor Randy Newman said. The new laws provide harsher penalties if a child is present during an act of domestic violence.

Williams choked his ex-wife in front of their 10-year-old daughter in August, Newman said. He attacked her from behind and placed her in a “rear neck chokehold,” causing her to nearly lose consciousness and inflicting serious injury to her jaw.

Newman said Williams had a “significant” prior criminal record that included convictions for inflicting serious injury to a spouse in the state of Ohio, trespassing at a women’s shelter in the state of Texas and multiple property and drug charges.

This story was originally published February 2, 2016 at 12:16 PM with the headline "Lancaster man sentenced to 12 years for choking ex-wife."