After waiving an adjudication hearing, 17-yearold Tyler Buck, of Eureka, appeared before Chief Judge David Ricke, via Zoom, last Wednesday, Dec. 20, where Buck entered a guilty plea to two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child.
Buck was arrest on Aug. 12 and charged on seven counts including: Rape, Aggravated Criminal Sodomy x2 and Aggravated Indecent Liberties with a Child x4. The complaint noted that Buck knowingly engaged in sexual intercourse with one of the two children, both of which were noted as a child under 14 years of age. The complaint also noted that Buck engaged in sodomy and lewd fondling with both children. The inappropriate activity was noted to begin in October 2022 and continued through August of this year.
With the waiver of the adjudication and preliminary hearings, Greenwood County Attorney Jill Gillett agreed to dismiss some of the charges as part of the plea agreement. Buck pled guilty to Count 4 and Count 6, both Aggravated Indecent Liberties with a Child. Both are level 3 person felonies that show a sentencing range of 55-247 months of presumptive imprisonment. It is believed that Buck doesn’t have a criminal history which will place him in Category I, ranging in 55-61 months, per count.
Buck, along with his court appointed attorney Stephany Hughes, will appear before Judge Ricke for sentencing, in person, on Friday, Feb. 23, at 3 p.m.
