Beaufort man admits raping acquaintance's girlfriend, unrelated to Ridgeland killing

BEAUFORT, S.C. (October 23, 2024) – A Beaufort man on trial for raping an acquaintance's girlfriend in her Paris Island Gateway home relented shortly after the victim's statement Tuesday.

Erick Malik Darien, 28, pleaded not only to the 2022 sexual assault and three other related offenses in Beaufort County, but also to a 2016 murder in Jasper County. Darien entered an “Alford plea,” in which a defendant maintains his innocence but admits that the prosecution's evidence would likely result in a guilty verdict at trial. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

“The victim in this sexual assault case endured hours of physical and psychological torment,” Trasi Campbell said of the 14th^Th The Circuit Solicitor's Office, which prosecuted both cases. “Fortunately, she kept her wits about her and her actions were crucial to Eric Darien’s arrest and conviction. In the end, another victim of another crime also received closure.

“It was a turbulent day, but I hope these pleas bring comfort and healing to all of the defendant’s victims.”

Darien pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual conduct, kidnapping, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime and possession of a machine gun in connection with the June 2022 sexual assault. He also pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the 2016 shooting death of Davonte Freeman in downtown Ridgeland. He received 20 years in prison for each of sexual assault, kidnapping and intentional homicide. He received 10 years in prison for possession of a machine gun and five years for possession during a violent crime.

The sentences are to be served concurrently.

In June 2022, Darien traveled to Jacksonville, Florida with the victim and her boyfriend. An argument broke out between them and the victim's friend ordered her to drive Darien back to the Beaufort area in her car. During the ride, Darien, who was armed with a Glock pistol, made numerous lewd and threatening statements toward the woman. He told her that he had already killed someone and would kill her too before taking the woman's phone.

Arriving in Beaufort, Darien asked to be taken to Lady's Island. The woman refused because she feared that Darien planned to take her to an unknown location and harm her. Instead, she agreed to let him wait at her house while he called a friend for a takeout. But once inside, Darien sexually abused her.

Darien then ordered the woman to take a shower. She went to the toilet but only pretended to wash herself. When Darien fell asleep, the woman considered running away, but was afraid she would wake her captor and he would kill her. However, she got her cell phone out of Darien's pants and texted her mother, her landlord, and her boyfriend to tell them that she had been raped and needed help.

The woman's mother alerted authorities and, at her daughter's urging, warned them that Darien was armed. The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office arrived and found Darien still asleep. At his side was the pistol, modified to fire automatically.

“This survivor is remarkable,” 14 said^Th District Attorney Duffie Stone. “Not only did she prevent the escalation of violence, but she also took steps to preserve evidence that led to the conviction of her attacker.”

Darien initially denied having sexual intercourse with the woman, but changed his story after a forensic nurse at the Medical University of South Carolina recovered his semen from the woman's body and the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office forensics laboratory confirmed it matched Darien's DNA.

Darien then admitted to investigators that he had sex with her but said it was consensual, a claim that was undermined by the victim's text messages. Data extracted from the woman's phone also confirmed information she gave investigators about her whereabouts in the hours before the attack.

Campbell called nine witnesses during two days of testimony at the Beaufort County Courthouse. Darien decided to change his plea after the victim left the witness stand and shortly before the case's lead investigator was scheduled to testify.

He also decided to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter in Freeman's death in 2016. Darien and co-defendant Aneisha Young robbed Freeman and a companion on Adams Street in Ridgeland. Freeman was shot in the back of the head with a .22 caliber pistol. In 2018, a Jasper County jury found Young guilty of murder, attempted murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. She received a 40-year prison sentence.

District Court Judge Brian M. Gibbons announced the sentences against Darien on Tuesday.

Darien's criminal history includes convictions for forgery and public disorder.

Campbell is a member of the Solicitor's Office's Career Crime Unit, which prosecutes the county's most violent and habitual offenders. This team has secured convictions against 499 of the 546 defendants it has prosecuted since its inception in 2009.

The law firm also supports the 14th^Th The Circuit Victims Services Center, where community partners provide critical services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and other crimes against vulnerable people. Help is available to anyone who needs it, even if they are not involved in solving or prosecuting a crime. The VSC serves Allendale, Beaufort, Jasper, Hampton and Colleton counties.

If you need assistance, call 843-790-6220 or email [email protected].