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Convicted child molester gets 80 years Jury finds man guilty of criminal sexual conduct with step-granddaughter BY MATT BRUCE matthew@theitem.com A Sumter County jury on Wednesday convicted a man accused of molesting his step-granddaughter, and a judge sentenced him to 80 years in prison. The verdict and ruling culminated a two-day trial at
Sumter County Judicial Center during which Robert Wazney, a 43-year-old Sumter man, was being tried on WAZNEY multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor. Jurors deliberated and
found the man guilty on four counts of the molestation charges, and Circuit Court Judge Maite Murphy followed up the conviction by sentencing Wazney to consecutive 20year prison terms on each charge. This week was not the defendant’s first time in the courtroom on the allegations.
Wazney was initially tried last month during Sumter County’s previous session of criminal court. However, an error in presentation during the testimony portion of that trial led to inadmissible information being disclosed before jurors. Consequently, the presiding judge declared a mistrial, and
EBENEZER MIDDLE SCHOOL CELEBRATES BLACK HERITAGE
300 meet man’s ‘Chicken Challenge’
officials rescheduled the case for this month, according to 3rd Circuit Solicitor Ernest A. “Chip” Finney III. The re-trial began Monday, with attorneys selecting a jury for the case. Testimony and opening arguments got underway Tuesday morning.
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Prosecutor: Death penalty doesn’t apply in shooting CHARLESTON (AP) — A prosecutor says it doesn’t look as if the death penalty can be sought in the case of a black South Carolina man who was fatally shot as he ran from a white police officer. Former North Charleston officer Michael Slager is charged with murder in the death of Walter Scott. The April 4 shooting was captured on cellphone video and showed Slager firing eight shots at Scott as he ran following a traffic stop. Meanwhile, the case has been assigned by the state’s chief justice to a black judge from Kingstree, South Carolina, about 70 miles from Charleston. And the Rev. Jesse Jackson was due in Charleston on Thursday to hold a rally in support of the Scott family at a local union hall.
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Actress visits students in Bishopville PHOTOS BY KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM
Earl Wilson, owner and operator of six KFC and Arby’s locations in Sumter and Florence, hands a chicken dinner to Tamia Jackson, an eighth-grader at Ebenezer Middle School, on Wednesday. The lunch was a reward for students who researched influential blacks and gave a summary of their findings to classmates. The 275 students who participated received 650 pieces of chicken and sides.
Students rewarded with lunch for sharing projects on leaders FROM STAFF REPORTS Earl Wilson, owner of multiple KFC and Arby’s restaurants in Sumter and Florence, provided about 300 lunches free of charge to students and staff at Ebenezer Middle School on Wednesday. The school celebrated black heritage in February by spotlighting local black leaders through speaking engagements. Wilson was one of those speakers. After his presentation, Wilson presented an idea to Principal Greg Jones. “I told Dr. Jones that if the school could come up
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Ebenezer Middle School students enjoy a lunch of KFC for participating in the KFC Black Heritage Challenge. with a challenge for the students, KFC would reward the students who met that challenge with a free lunch,” Wilson said. He asked the Ebenezer Black Heritage Committee,
led by teachers Marlissa Morton, Pleshette Kelly and Lindsay Yaroch, to present a project for the students that would help to foster a deeper appreciation of the work of black leaders.
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During March, students and staff participated in the “KFC Black Heritage Challenge,” referred to as the “Chicken Challenge,” where they researched influential black leaders as a part of an English language arts and social studies lesson. After gathering the information, participants completed a summary of the person’s accomplishments along with their personal reflections of those accomplishments and presented their findings to their peers during social studies classes. In the end, 275 students and 25 staff members successfully accepted the challenge. “I hope that through this project, students were able to find leaders that they could look up to,” Wilson said.
Garner is ambassador for Save the Children BY JAMIE SELF The State Four-year-olds at Bishopville Primary School likely did not recognize their special guest. But when actress Jennifer Garner sat down in the rocking chair and read “Quick as a Cricket’’ to them, they were full of giggles and exclamations and, when she finished the book, urged her to “Do it again. That was fun!’’ Garner — an artist ambassador for Save the Children — stopped by the school Wednesday to learn how the child-advocacy organization’s programs are affecting South Carolina children. An international child-welfare aid program, Save the Children has U.S. programs aimed at promoting early childhood literacy and health for children starting
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