Babysitter sentenced to 33 years for homicide by child abuse in infant’s death
February 12, 2026
A Kershaw County jury convicted Jacob Ray Wescott of homicide by child abuse on Feb. 9. The Honorable Milton G. Kimpson sentenced Wescott to 33 years in the South Carolina Department of Corrections.
On March 9, 2020, the Kershaw County fire department and the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) responded to a call at the Wescott residence after a 10-month-old stopped breathing. Wescott was babysitting the infant at the time.
Emergency Medical Services responders rushed the baby boy to the Kershaw Health Emergency Room, where doctors later transferred him to Prisma Health Children’s Hospital.
Medical professionals determined the child sustained extensive head and body injuries, including a brain bleed and multiple bruises. The 10-month-old succumbed to his injuries and was taken off life support on March 11, 2020.
The Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation, and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division’s Child Fatality Unit collaborated with local law enforcement. Medical experts and a pathologist determined that the baby’s injuries were consistent with abusive head trauma, formerly known as shaken baby syndrome.
The Fifth Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office prosecuted the case. Deputy Solicitors Curtis Pauling and Anna Browder, along with Assistant Solicitor Michael Bradbury, led the prosecution. KCSO Lt. Miles Taylor spearheaded the investigation.