The Charleston Police Department have announced the arrest of a second suspect in relation to the alleged sexual assault of a 17-year-old College of Charleston student last month. James F. West III, age 22, is charged with engaging a child for sexual performance, according to Charleston police spokesman Charles Francis. A bond hearing for West is scheduled Tuesday afternoon.
On Aug. 27, police reported to the Medical University of South Carolina around 11 p.m. There, a female victim told officers that she had been sexually assaulted by two unknown men during a house party on Ashley Avenue, according to an incident report. Days later, 21-year-old College of Charleston student Timothy Eli Seppi was charged with sexual exploitation of a minor in relation to the incident. Charleston County Sheriff’s Office records show that Seppi was booked on charges of possession of cocaine and marijuana on Aug. 28 and was released the following day on $5,615 bond. Several days after his release, Seppi was arrested for sexual exploitation charges and released the next day on $30,000 bond.
In a message to students sent last week, CofC President Glenn McConnell wrote that he would not go into detail about any specific off-campus allegations regarding a student arrest due to an ongoing investigation, but he did say that the college’s chief of police has “barred the student who was criminally charged from campus.”
He added, “While the recent allegation of criminal activity that occurred off campus was a contributing factor in the college’s decision regarding the suspension of alcohol-related events for fraternities and sororities, it was not the sole reason for the ban.”
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