CAMDEN, SC (WIS) - A Kershaw County woman is in jail after being caught on cell phone video beating two young children, investigators say.
Kershaw County Sheriff Jim Matthews said deputies responded to a call on March 28 about two children, ages 2 and 3, who had left their home on Collins Circle in Camden.
Deputies picked up the two small children took them back to their home. While officers were waiting on DSS officials to arrive, Matthews said a female walked up to the deputies and showed them a video of the suspect, 38-year-old Crystal Lawton, beating the two little girls. Lawton is the fiancée of the children's father.
Deputies notified Kershaw County Sheriff's investigators who, along with DSS officials, arranged for the two little girls to be placed with their paternal grandparents.
Sheriff's investigators reviewed the videotape which had been recorded secretly on a cell phone and following further investigation obtained arrest warrants charging Crystal Lawton with four counts of unlawful conduct/neglect of a child. Lawton faces up to 10 years in prison for each felony charge if convicted.
"This is one of the most disturbing incidents involving small children I have ever seen," said Matthews. "The fact that it comes on the heels of two suspicious infant deaths we have investigated in the past month, emphasizes that we have a serious child abuse problem in South Carolina. I wonder how frequent this goes on or how many times this goes on and we don't ever hear about it."
The cell phone video, which deputies would not release, shows the girls being stripped and whipped on their backsides with a belt. The sheriff says Lawton punished the girls because one drank Lawton's juice and the other wet her pants.
"This video made me mad, disgusted and then all I could feel was pity for these two little girls," added the sheriff. "I hate to think about the number of child abuse cases that go unreported in our state."
Lawton's bond was set at $40,000 Tuesday morning and she bonded out later that day.
Matthews said the investigation is not complete and it is possible that other charges will be filed.
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Crystal Lawton (Source: Kershaw County Detention Center)
