(Kershaw County) - The man accused of abducting a 14-year-old Kershaw County girl will have a bond hearing Monday afternoon.
Vinson Filyaw, 36, faces charges of criminal sexual conduct in the first degree, kidnapping, impersonating a police officer, and two counts of possession of incendiary explosives.
"This is the most bizarre case I've seen in Kershaw County," says McCaskill.
Because this is a sexual assault case, News19 will now begin to adhere to our policy of not naming rape victims. We understand that this is a high profile case and that the victim's name has been out there for some time, but we believe that following this policy is in the best interest of the victim, the family, and the community.
According to investigators, Filyaw kidnapped the teen September 6 while she was walking home from her bus stop and hid her in an underground bunker. (Related story: Read more about the bunkers)
McCaskill says he was able to take the victim by impersonating a deputy. However, the sheriff says it wasn't until he told her something else that he was able to get close to her.
"He told her he had her brother," says McCaskill. "That's how he got her."
Officers say that bunker contained supplies and weapons, and was about eight feet deep. It was dug into a wooded area, and was covered with a makeshift door and leaves. According to investigators, Filyaw told the victim that he had booby-trapped the place, and she would get hurt if she left.
On Wednesday, the victim was able to send a text message while the man was sleeping, telling her family that she was in a hole and could hear trucks.
"She had as much to do with her rescue as we did," says McCaskill.
He says the message allowed deputies to get a general area of where she might be.
The girl was discovered early Saturday morning, and has since been treated and released from the hospital. (Related story: Kershaw County Sheriff's Captain David Thomley describes how officers found the victim)
McCaskill also said Filyaw's common law wife, Cynthia Hall, who was arrested Friday afternoon, was being charged with aiding and abetting, as well as unlawful neglect. Officers say she allowed Filyaw to take fuel and propane from her house to the bunkers that he had built.
Officer had been looking for Filyaw since November on an unrelated sex crimes charge. They say he used an hideaway built in his home to elude them when they went to serve warrants.
"He was watching us, listening to us when we were there," says McCaskill. "He's very good at living off the land."
Filyaw was taken into custody around 4:30 Sunday morning on Interstate 20 between Spears Creek Church Road and Clemson Road.
Kershaw County Sheriff Steve McCaskill tells News19 that his team moved the search perimeter from Kershaw to Richland County after a car-jacking attempt caught their attention.
McCaskill says that around 2:30 a.m. Sunday Filyaw attempted to carjack a woman at Capone's Pizza in northeast Richland County. The failed attempt led to the woman identifying Filyaw, which allowed search crews to refocus and begin combing the new area from the air and on the ground.
When they arrested Filyaw at approximately 4:20 a.m., McCaskill says they found a long hunting knife, pellet pistol, and taser gun on him. They also found the handcuffs that the Sheriff says Filyaw used to abduct the girl.
McCaskill says the man has shown no remorse.
Filyaw is awaiting a bond hearing. McCaskill says that they will ask that the courts deny him bond.
After his arrest, McCaskill told News19 that Filyaw is "a sick man, I hope he spends a lot of time in jail."
In accordance with our policy, we have also omitted past stories on WLTX.com which reference the victim by name and picture.
9/14/2007 3:10:24 PM
