A Rock Hill man could spend as many as 13 years in prison after pleading guilty to sex assault against a child where DNA played a crucial role in the case.
Prosecutor Chris Epting said after court Monday Michael David Jobson’s DNA matched body fluid evidence recovered at the crime scene in 2020.
Judge Debra McCaslin sentenced Jobson, 52, to 14 years prison in York County court. He pleaded guilty in an Alford plea to third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor between ages 14 and 16, and first-degree assault and battery.
In an Alford plea, a defendant does not have to admit guilt but accepts a jury would likely find him guilty if there was a trial. An Alford plea is treated the same as any guilty plea for sentencing.
Jobson’s lawyer, Rock Hill’s Zachary Merritt of the MLB law firm, said in court Jobson denied the allegations from the very beginning.
The sentence was part of a negotiated deal between prosecutors and Jobson’s attorney, the judge and lawyers in the case said. Jobson received a year credit off the 14 year sentence for time he was on GPS monitoring after his 2020 arrest.
Jobson must also register as a sex offender upon release from prison, Epting said.
Victim: Anger over the sex crime
York County deputies arrested Jobson in 2020 after the victim told people at school about the assault.
Jobson knew the victim. The Herald does not identify victims of sexual assault.
Several detectives from the sheriff’s office involved in the investigation and others were in court Monday supporting the victim.
The victim said Monday in court Jobson would not walk away from what he did.
“Once you are behind bars, I will know I am really free,” the victim said in court.
Jobson did not speak in court Monday. He also had supporters there.
Merritt said Jobson will be eligible for parole after serving part of his sentence.
Source Agencies
