Bowen Turner back behind bars on DUI, other charges
FLORENCE, S.C. (WCSC) - The Orangeburg County man accused of sexually assaulting three teenagers in as many counties and dozens of bond violations has been arrested again less than four months after he was released from prison and put on probation.
Bowen Turner, 21, was booked into the Florence County Detention Center Saturday night at 8:29, jail records show.
The South Carolina Highway Patrol arrested Turner. He’s facing five different charges; these include driving under the influence, having an open container of beer or wine in a car, public disorderly conduct, a seat belt violation and one undisclosed pending charge.
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Turner was still under active supervision at the time of his arrest, records show. He was released from prison Nov. 15 after spending nearly 16 months behind bars.
He was meant to remain on probation until May 2025.
Turner was first accused of sexually assaulting two teenage girls in 2018. While out on bond for the second case, he was charged with the rape of a third.
While a judge had placed Turner on house arrest with an ankle monitor, court documents show he violated the conditions of his bond more than 50 times to go to golf courses, restaurants, and sporting goods stores and even traveled across state lines.
Prosecutors and Turner reached a deal in April 2022, exchanging his criminal sexual conduct charge in one case for first-degree assault and battery, to which he pleaded guilty. He received a probation sentence under the Youthful Offender Act, which requires offenders to be younger than 25 and clear of any previous convictions under the act.
However, a month into his probation, Turner was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, possession of alcohol by a minor and threatening a public employee. Court documents show Turner threatened to bite off the finger of an Orangeburg County deputy when the deputy informed him of the jail’s COVID protocols which required Turner to wear a mask. A judge revoked his probation in July of the same year.
Turner was incarcerated at Turbeville Correctional Institution and remained there until last November.
The Intensive Supervision istration Review Authority, a board that acts as a release authority for those charged under the Youthful Offender Act, denied Turner’s requests for release twice while he was imprisoned, once May 11 and again July 17, both last year. A board with the South Carolina Department of Corrections reviewed his case Sept. 14 and subsequently granted that release date.
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Turner was required to complete one year of community service and meet with an intensive supervision officer weekly to guarantee he was obeying the conditions of his release.
In a statement posted on X, Sarah Ford, the legal director of the South Carolina Victim Assistance Network and the attorney representing Turner’s victims, said, “If Bowen Turner had been effectively prosecuted and sentenced appropriately, he would not be out driving on SC’s roads, putting lives at risk. We must do better in SC courtrooms to protect our citizens from repeat offenders.”
Ford went on to tell Live 5 in a statement, which she later posted on X, “When will our criminal justice system prioritize protecting victims and the public instead of rewarding repeat offenders with more opportunities to reoffend?”
No further information has been released regarding the circumstances of his most recent arrest. Officials were not immediately available for comment.
Turner remains in custody at the Florence County Detention Center.
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