Stover man sentenced to 30 years for child sex crimes

A judge has sentenced a Stover man to 30 years in prison for sex crimes involving a child under the age of 12.

In May, a jury found William Marchand, 73, guilty of statutory sodomy and child molestation. Marchand was sentenced to 15 years for each count; he will serve each sentence consecutively. His attorney had asked for the minimum sentence for the two crimes, which would have been 15 years, citing Marchand’s age.

Court documents say Marchand knew his victim, who was 10 years old at the time. According to those documents, Marchand was watching pornography in the kitchen, and had the victim join him, at which point he touched her in a sexual manner.

The assault happened in Columbia, where the trial was later held. During Monday’s sentencing, the victim’s mother told the court her daughter was traumatized by what happened, doesn’t trust men anymore, is mean to her brothers, and has to take anxiety and anti-depression medication.

For his part, Marchand told the court at his sentencing that his victim’s claims weren’t plausible. Marchand will have to serve 12 years before he will be eligible for parole.