DNA hit leads to arrest, guilty plea in Rock Hill sex assault

A Rock Hill man arrested last year through a DNA match four years after a woman claimed she was sexually assaulted was sentenced to probation Wednesday and must register as a sex offender after pleading guilty to second degree assault and battery but not admitting to the crime, prosecutors said.

Delvecio Minton, 37, was jailed on unrelated charges in 2014 when he was served the warrants for an alleged assault from 2010. In that incident the victim told police she had been assaulted, but Minton was never found or charged until the DNA match of evidence recovered in 2010.

Minton received a three-year suspended sentence and probation, and must register as a sex offender, after he pleaded guilty under what is called an Alford plea, said Misti Shelton, 16th Circuit assistant solicitor. In an Alford plea a defendant does not acknowledge guilt but concedes evidence prosecutors would submit if there was a trial would result in a substantial likelihood of conviction.

An Alford plea is treated the same as a guilty plea for purposes of sentencing, Shelton said.

This story was originally published June 11, 2015 at 11:55 AM with the headline "DNA hit leads to arrest, guilty plea in Rock Hill sex assault."