Rock Hill man pleads no contest in child assault case

A Rock Hill man pleaded no contest Friday to assault and battery in the improper touching of a 7-year-old neighbor girl, but will not have to register as a sex offender or spend time in prison, court records show.

The court hearing took place under heavier than normal security because some family members of the victim were upset that the defendant, Edward Burdell O’Neil Jr., was not going to prison.

O’Neil, 62, was charged in October 2015 with criminal sexual conduct by Rock Hill police after the victim alleged digital sexual contact from O’Neil. The incident happened at O’Neil’s home earlier in 2015, police said.

O’Neil pleaded no contest, in which a defendant accepts the same sentencing as a guilty plea without the admission of guilt.

Under a negotiated plea deal, he received three years’ probation and a suspended eight-year sentence, said Sharon Kopp, 16th Circuit assistant solicitor.

O’Neil also is barred from any contact with the victim or her family.

Some family members expressed displeasure in court about a plea agreement where O’Neil will not having to serve any prison time or register as a sex offender.

Kopp, the prosecutor, said she and another supervising prosecutor met with the victim’s family before the hearing. They explained that the plea was offered because of difficulties with the timeline of the case and other factors, but the plea also ensured that O’Neil would have a felony on his record.

A plea deal also meant that the victim, now 9 years old, would not have to be “re-traumatized” by testifying in court, Kopp said.

This story was originally published October 21, 2016 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Rock Hill man pleads no contest in child assault case."