Rock Hill man who sexually assaulted girl, 6, sentenced to 25 years

A Rock Hill man who rejected two plea offers — including one that would have let him walk out of jail — has been convicted of sexually assaulting a girl who was 6 years old in 2012, according to prosecutors and court records.

Orlando Martinez Coleman, 21, was found guilty by a jury last week of criminal sexual conduct against a child under age 11 and sentenced to 25 years by visiting Judge Roger Couch. The trial had been postponed a couple of times before after Coleman was arrested in October of 2013, and Coleman declined two offers of plea bargains.

Coleman, in open court, rejected offers if he pleaded guilty of eight years and prison and not having to register as a sex offender, and another offer of time served — he had been in jail about 18 months — with lifelong sex offender registry, said Sharon Ohayon, the 16th Circuit Assistant Solicitor who prosecuted the case.

So Coleman went to trial and the girl, now 9, testified that Coleman had her sit on his lap twice and assault her.

Coleman and the victim’s older brother were friends, Ohayon said, and the incident happened when both families lived at a Rock Hill apartment complex. The victim’s family moved but the victim was having nightmares and finally told her mother what happened, launching a police investigation.

This story was originally published March 23, 2015 at 11:42 AM with the headline "Rock Hill man who sexually assaulted girl, 6, sentenced to 25 years."