GREENWOOD, S.C. — A Greenwood man will spend 20 years in prison, and will not be eligible for parole, after pleading guilty to charges stemming from incidents in which he sexually abused and photographed girls under the age of 11.
The jury selection process had already begun when Joshua Jennings, 40, of Greenwood, changed his plea from not guilty to guilty on two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor and two counts of first degree sexual exploitation of a minor.
Circuit Judge Eugene C. Griffith sentenced to Jennings to 20 years in prison. At the end of his prison sentence, Jennings will be evaluated under the Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) Act, which could lead to an indefinite, involuntary commitment as an SVP.
According to court records, in March 2018, a woman came forward with two girls under the age of 11 who claimed Jennings had touched them inappropriately multiple times between January 2017 and the day the assaults were reported. A search of Jennings phone turned up child pornography pictures, some of which appeared to have been taken by Jennings.
