Jury finds York County sex offender to be a violent predator, judge commits man to institution

A thrice convicted child molester from Rock Hill will continue to be confined in a state institution even though his prison sentence is finished after a civil trial jury this week found him to be a sexually violent predator who targeted children.

The S.C. Attorney General’s Office successfully pursued a civil action against Timothy Groves Oxendine, 61, where a jury found enough evidence to keep Oxendine from being released, according to court records. A judge ordered Oxendine’s commitment late Wednesday after the trial, records show.

State prosecutors alleged in the lawsuit that Oxendine was a likely re-offender, based on medical and other guidelines, according to court records. Prosecutors said Oxendine had recurrent sexual urges that threatened public safety if he was released, plus he met several legal criteria that can be used to try to keep defendants convicted of sex crimes in custody after prison terms finish.

Authorities say Oxendine was a risk because he was not related to his victims, had previous convictions for sex crimes and other crimes, was under supervision when re-offending, and used force or threats against his victims.

In at least one case, Oxendine threatened his victims if they reported the sexual assaults.

When Oxendine’s prison term was set to finish in 2013 for the 2005 conviction for assaulting a child, state prosecutors filed the lawsuit that kept Oxendine in the York County jail until a trial could be held.

Oxendine was sentenced to 10 years in 2005 for criminal sexual conduct toward a child after pleading guilty in an incident where he repeatedly molested the female child of an acquaintance, court records show. Before that, Oxendine was convicted of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature in another sexual assault case involving a minor, and was convicted in a 1995 case of a lewd act against a minor.

Oxendine also had convictions and served prison stretches for drugs, burglary and reckless homicide dating back to 1977, court records show.

This story was originally published October 2, 2015 at 10:49 AM with the headline "Jury finds York County sex offender to be a violent predator, judge commits man to institution."