By HEATHER WALTERS
A Walterboro man has been sentenced to prison for breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s house and then assaulting her.
Walter Alexander Palacios, 36, of Walterboro, was found guilty last week of assault with intent to commit sexual assault, domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature and first-degree burglary
Palacios was sentenced to 18 years in prison on each of the three charges. He will serve the sentences concurrently. Circuit Court Judge DeAndra Benjamin also ordered Palacios to register as a sex offender.
“This brutal assault took place long after Walter Palacios should have been out of the victim’s life,” said Fourteenth Circuit Assistant Solicitor Julie Kate Keeney, who prosecuted the case. The Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office is the chief prosecuting agency in Colleton County. Keeney works for the Solicitor’s Office and is a member of the Special Victims Unit, prosecuting cases that involve sexual assault, domestic abuse and crimes against vulnerable people.
“This sentence ensures he won’t have a chance to prey on this victim, or anyone else for quite some time,” Keeney said, after the trial.
The assault occurred in November of 2019, when Palacios broke into his ex-girlfriend’s Walterboro home. The victim’s name will be withheld to protect her identity. After breaking into her house, Palacios hit her, and cut her with a knife several times. He also attempted to sexually assault her.
The two had lived together, but had broken up months before the attack, according to information provided by the Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
In addition to sending Palacios to prison, Judge Benjamin also issued a 30-year restraining order prohibiting Palacios from making contact with the victim.
