South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced today that Jeremiah James Pough was civilly committed to the state’s Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) Program after a jury trial in Kershaw County this week.
Pough pleaded guilty to multiple charges of criminal sexual conduct with minors and served four years in prison. The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office took action to get him committed to the SVP program once he was released. He has been in the Kershaw County Detention Center since last December awaiting completion of the SVP civil trial.
Under the state’s SVP program, people convicted of violent sexual offenses can be committed to the program after they’ve served their prison sentences so they can receive long-term control, care, and treatment from the Department of Mental Health. Commitment to the program requires a jury trial.
Dr. Emily Gottfried of the Medical University of South Carolina testified as an expert for the state. The jury returned a verdict finding that Pough is a sexually violent predator who has a mental abnormality and a personality disorder that makes him likely to re-offend sexually if not committed to a secure facility for long-term control, care, and treatment.
Pough will remain in the treatment program until his mental abnormality or personality disorder has changed enough that he is safe to be at large and not likely to re-offend sexually if released.
Assistant Attorney General Christopher Runyan and Assistant Attorney General James Fisher represented the State.