CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- A 56-year-old homeless man has been convicted of raping a dying cancer patient at a Mount Pleasant hospice center.
Circuit Judge Markley Dennis concluded Thursday that Calvin Dean Williams was guilty but mentally ill on charges of criminal sexual conduct and burglary.
The 86-year-old woman died from cancer eight days after the attack.
Dennis sentenced Williams to 30 years in prison. Williams could be held as a sexual predator after his sentence.
Prosecutors say Williams entered The Hospice Center through an unlocked door around 3 a.m. in February 2011. A nurse heard a scream and found Williams with the woman.
Defense attorney Cody Groeber had asked for a 15-year sentence, saying Williams needed medication and supervision. Groeber says Williams lost his parents as a teen and eventually lived in McClellanville.