Easley Man Convicted of Molesting Underage Girls

An Easley man was sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison on Wednesday after he was found guilty of molesting two underage girls.

Mark Stanley Peters, 55, of Easley was sentenced to 155 months in prison after a Pickens County jury found him guilty of two counts of committing a lewd act upon a child under 16 years of age, according to a statement from 13th Judicial Circuit Solicitor Walter Wilkins.

Prosecutors presented evidence that established Peters had committed a lewd act upon an 8-year-old victim between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24, 2008. Prosecutors also established that Peters committed a lewd act on a 13-year-old victim on April 27, 2009.

"Both victims awoke in the middle of the night to the Defendant touching their private areas," the statement said.

The victims were friends of Peters' daughters who were ages 5 and 11 at the time. Prosecutors said the incidents occurred while the victims were attending sleepovers at his home in Easley.

The case was investigated by Detective Rita Burgess of the Pickens County Sheriff's Office.

Peters was sentenced on Wednesday by Judge G. Edward Welmaker and committed to the S.C. State Department of Corrections to serve out his sentence.