A Simpsonville woman has been sentenced to forty years in prison for what prosecutors called one of the most evil things a mother could do to a child.
Circuit Court Judge Patrick Fant III sentenced 26-year-old Abbygale El-Dier to 40 years in prison.
Her boyfriend, Jacob Lance, 29, was already serving 30 years for a 2015 Anderson County manslaughter case and an additional 40 years for sexual misconduct with a minor.
The case came to light after South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson launched a crackdown on contraband in state prisons. Prison staff discovered Eldir sent dozens of videos and photos to Lance showing her sexually abusing her three-year-old daughter. The three-year-old is not related to Lance.
Thirteenth Circuit Assistant Solicitor Cortney Rea called this the worst case she has ever prosecuted, citing the severe trauma the toddler suffered.
“I try to put this into words, but words cannot express how despicable these actions were. Inhumane, disgusting, horrific, but what the defendant did to her child was truly evil,” Ray said. “Everyone who has come into contact with this case has been negatively affected by their perversion. What the defendant (Eldir) did to this child is beyond comprehension.”
Eldir was also sentenced to five years in prison for first-degree sexual exploitation. Lance was also sentenced to three years in prison for sexual exploitation of a minor. The three-year sentence will run concurrently with his previous sentence.
According to prosecutors, Eldir and Lance messaged each other between August 2022 and August 2023, and the two talked about child abuse. The two also discussed the idea that Lance abused children and drugged them and other children. Law enforcement discovered the conversation between the two after someone reported the messages to the Simpsonville Police Department.
After receiving a tip, law enforcement arrested Eldir, and agents from the Attorney General’s Office obtained Lance’s cell phone.
El-Dier pleaded guilty in July and Lance in November.
“Subjected to abuse”
Jacobs and his brother Ernest Lance were convicted in March 2018 of beating Todd Cantlay to death and then setting fire to his Pendleton home. Jacob Lance is serving a 30-year sentence at the Lee County Correctional Facility in Bishopville.
Eldiel’s attorney, Will Hellams of Greenville, and her family have accused Lance of manipulating and psychologically abusing her.
The victim’s advocate told the hearing: “We will forever regret not realizing the severity of this situation every day for the rest of our lives. We are extremely disappointed that our granddaughter will have to grow up learning about these horrific events. The treatment she must receive will never be enough.”
Lance told a different story to Judge Fant during the hearing, claiming that Eldir initiated the conversation about the abuse and that he felt blackmailed by continuing the conversation. If he didn’t, he said, she would cut off contact and possibly alert the Department of Corrections about his prohibited cell phone.
“I felt forced to go along with it because I didn’t want her to call the search party and then turn everything on me and make me look like a monster,” Lance said.
Attorney General’s Office cracks down on smuggling
This case, like several others, is part of an initiative by the Attorney General’s Office to punish possession of prohibited cell phones.
A state grand jury investigated and prosecuted every case in the initiative.
Eldir’s family said they reported Lance to the South Carolina Department of Corrections multiple times, but Lance would have several phones at a time and switch between them to access Eldir.
David Fernandez, deputy assistant to the attorney general’s office, said the detailed conversations between Eldir and Lance about their daughter’s abuse were just the tip of the iceberg compared to what Eldir did to his own daughter.
Assistant Deputy Attorney General David Fernandez said during the hearing: “Your Honor, what is presented today is just a snippet of a fascinating conversation between two men. These are not fantasies; these are actions taken by Eldir in real time for the benefit of Jacob Lance.”
This article originally appeared in The Greenville News: SC inmate receives video, photos of child sex abuse using cell phone