The child molester who had a standoff with Bladen County deputies will serve 20 years in prison.
Wilton Edwards Jr. age 42, pleaded guilty to statutory rape Monday in Bladen County Superior Court. He was sentenced by superior court Judge Jason Disbrow to 144 to 233 months (12 to 19.4 years) in prison. Upon release he must register as a sex offender for life, and may never have contact with the victim.
The district attorney’s office said Edwards sexually assaulted the girl for more than a year. The rapes began when the girl was 13 and continued past her 14th birthday. Investigators discovered Edwards and the victim were communicating via cellphones.
When the sheriff’s office went to Edwards’ home to serve a search warrant, Edwards held deputies off at gunpoint until he surrendered and was taken into custody without injury.
Investigators worked with the Bladen County Hospital’s SANE Nurse and Carolyn’s Kaleidoscope Child Advocacy Center in Whiteville to collect evidence that led to the successful prosecution.
The state was represented by Chief Assistant District Attorney Allan R. Adams. Det. McKinley Raynor with the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office lead the investigation.
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