Former Pastor Gets 26 Years for Child Sex Abuse

By Greg Hambrick
Patch
April 30, 2012

http://summerville.patch.com/articles/former-pastor-gets-26-years-for-child-sex-abuse-d8b533df


A former Goose Creek pastor plead guilty Friday to sexually abusing a child over an eight year period.

James Doscher was sentenced to 26 years in prison for criminal sexual conduct with a minor in the 1st degree. He was also sentenced to 20 years and 15 years on related charges, but the sentencing will be served concurrently. Doscher will have to serve more than 22 years before he is eligible for release.

Assistant Solicitor Anne Williams of the Ninth Circuit Solicitor’s Special Victims Unit said the maximum sentence would have been 30 years because of the "Doscher was only subject to the sentencing ranges in law at the time of the offenses," said Assistant Solicitor Anne Williams. "Because the crimes occurred 10 years ago, the maximum time he could have been sentenced to on the most serious charge was up to 30 years."

Goose Creek Police arrested Doscher last September. He has been held at the Hill-Finklea Detention Center.

"Doscher previously was the pastor of New Life Church in Goose Creek," Williams said in a statement. "A witness for the defendant stated that Doscher presided more recently as a small group leader at Faith Assembly in Summerville."

The abuse reportedly began when the victim was 8 and continued until she was 14. She had told a family member when she was 12-year-old, but no action was taken, according to Williams. She came forward last year as an adult to report the crime out of fear that Doscher may abuse other children.

“This prosecution and the hefty sentence is a great message to victims who have not yet been heard," said Solicitor Scarlett Wilson. "While these cases often have evidentiary challenges, we are willing to work [with] victims and their families to fight for them. It is never too late to come forward."