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Who is Judge Markley Dennis? Jurist slammed for sentencing alleged serial rapist Bowen Turner to probation

The teenager was sentenced to just five years of probation after being charged with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual misconduct
PUBLISHED APR 14, 2022
South Carolina Judge Markley Dennis (L) sparked outrage over his sentencing of Bowen Turner(R) (WCSC, Bamburg County Detention Center)
South Carolina Judge Markley Dennis (L) sparked outrage over his sentencing of Bowen Turner(R) (WCSC, Bamburg County Detention Center)

A South Carolina circuit judge sparked outrage after sentencing a teenager to just five years of probation despite charges on two counts of first-degree criminal sexual misconduct for separate assaults in recent years. Furthermore, the perp will not have to register as a sex offender after serving probation.

Orangeburg County Judge Markley Dennis made the controversial ruling on Friday, April 8, after 19-year-old Bowen Turner -- who was facing the charges for two separate incidents in October 2018 and June 2019 -- struck a deal to plead guilty to first-degree assault and battery and was sentenced under the Youthful Offender Act. Chloe Bess, the alleged victim of the June 2019 assault, said she was "extremely disappointed" by the sentence.

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"If he has completed five years without any violations and has done all the counseling necessary, then he will not have to register as a sex offender," Dennis announced on Friday to disappointed groans from the courtroom attendees. Bess said she was at a party with Turner when he pulled her behind a truck around 3 am and sexually assaulted her. "Turner then pulled her pants and underwear off and forced himself sexually on the victim," Second Circuit Deputy Solicitor David Miller said in court.



 

Speaking at a press conference alongside her family, Bess said she feels like "no matter what we say it falls on deaf ears." She added, "It’s a very defeating feeling, but I refuse to be defeated." Sarah Ford, the lawyer representing Bess and the other victim in the first assault, Dallas Stoller, said the plea agreement was in "direct contrast" to the wishes of the victims. "What he pled to and what happened to her, it was not the same," Ford told Fox News. "And unfortunately, we were not able to argue that it should be rejected, which is really a travesty for crime victims," she added.

Ford also revealed that Stoller died in November, and the first-degree criminal sexual misconduct charge that Turner faced for allegedly assaulting her was dropped last week. Stoller's grieving sister Brette Tabatabai told reporters outside the courthouse, "The fact that the defendant is going to walk free today and our sister is never going to walk the earth again, and we feel like not only her voice was stolen but ours was too." Turner was also accused of sexually assaulting a third victim in April 2018 in Calhoun County. However, no charges were ultimately filed, Ford said.



 

Who is Judge Markley Dennis?

Judge R. Markley Dennis Jr. is an at-large judge of the South Carolina Circuit Courts. According to Ballotpedia, he joined the court in 1994 and was re-elected on February 4, 2015. Dennis reportedly received his undergraduate degree in 1970 and his J.D. in 1973 from the University of South Carolina. Before becoming a judge, Dennis worked in private practice with his family-run law firm. Dennis is currently a member of the Law-Related Education Committee for the South Carolina Bar, the Administrative Law Judge Judicial Council, as well as the Circuit Court Judges Advisory Committee in the Palmetto State.

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