Victims' accounts of abuse lead to conviction

AIKEN --- A former Aiken County youth coach was sentenced to prison this week, convicted on statements from adults he sexually abused as children decades ago.

Judge Jack Early sentenced William "Bucky" Hicks Jr., 61, of Graniteville, on Wednesday to 10 years in prison and five years probation after he pleaded guilty to three counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor in the second degree and one count of a lewd act on a child.

Brenda Brisbin, an assistant Aiken County solicitor, said the conviction was based on statements of adults abused by Mr. Hicks many years ago.

"It's extremely difficult to prosecute those cases" because of the passage of time, Ms. Brisbin said. "Pretty much all you've got is the word of the victims. But if you have a lot of victims saying the same thing, that's pretty convincing."

Ms. Brisbin said the specific cases involved three male victims, two from the 1970s, and one from the late 1980s.

"He (Mr. Hicks) was a baseball coach in Graniteville and a lot of his victims were young boys on the baseball team," Ms. Brisbin said, but added that there were some alleged victims that weren't on the team.

"There were other victims who had brought charges back in '99 and 2002," she said, "but those victims were no longer willing to cooperate, so those charges have been dismissed.

And there were other victims who had come forward but refused to cooperate in the prosecution."

One of the most recent allegations against Mr. Hicks, she said, was brought to the attention of police through an anonymous e-mail in September 2007.

"There was an anonymous e-mail from a friend of one of the victims, and when that victim was approached by law enforcement he confirmed that it had happened," she said.

Ms. Brisbin said Mr. Hicks also must register as a sex offender.

Closure to the case, though, didn't just involve a sentencing for Mr. Hicks, she said.

"One of the victims did come to court and spoke very eloquently about the emotional damage that this man has done to him and a lot of other people.

"And (Mr. Hicks) did apologize on the record prior to sentencing ... He admitted he had done everything he was charged with doing and apologized to the victims. And I think the victim who did come to court really did appreciate that. I think it was helpful for him to move on."

Reach Preston Sparks at (803) 648-1395, ext. 110 or preston.sparks@augustachronicle.com.