Life without parole is the sentence

A 54-year old Oconeean has been sent to prison for the rest of his life–the result of being convicted this afternoon in the Oconee General Sessions Court.  The jury found Wilbur Rickmon guilty of kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct first degree.  The crimes occurred September 27, 2013 inside the trailer home where Rickmon lived.  The victim was a young neighbor who told the jury that she thought she had gone to Rickmon’s home in an attempt to help him file a jobless claim by computer.  But prosecutor Lindsey Simmons told the jury, “The whole thing was a trap.”  Rickmon did not testify in his defense, but some of his words and actions video recorded by a deputy who questioned Rickmon was replayed to the jury.  The verdict was reached after the jury spent an extra hour and a half listening to a re-play of the victim’s testimony–the direct testimony and  on cross examination.