FORSYTH COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — A man who sexually assault a 12-year-old in 2020 four days after being released from prison was sentenced on Thursday to 62 to 90 years, according to a statement released by the office of Forysth County District Attorney James O’Neill.
On Thursday, a Forsyth County jury found 44-year-old Preston Randolph Holmes guilty of:
- statutory rape of a child by an adult
- statutory sexual offense with a child by an adult
- indecent liberties with a child
Holmes was released from prison on Aug. 31, 2020.
Early in the morning on Sept. 4, 2020, Holmes entered the bedroom of a 12-year-old victim.
He initially laid on the floor in the victim’s room before getting into her bed where the sexual assault took place.
After the assault, Holmes left the room, and the victim’s mother saw him going into the bathroom.
When the victim’s mother entered her daughter’s room, she immediately noticed the victim was upse and
crying.
The victim told her mother that Holmes had assaulted her. The mother confronted Holmes. He did
not deny the accusations and left the house.
The victim was taken to Wake Forest Baptist Hospital where she underwent a sexual assault examination
by a trained sexual assault nurse examiner.
Evidence was collected that was submitted to the North Carolina State Crime Lab.
After a medical exam, there was physical evidence left behind by the assailant on the child. A DNA profile was obtained from swabs taken from the biological evidence taken from the victim.
The DNA profile matched the defendant.
The Honorable David Hall, of Forsyth County, sentenced the defendant to an active prison term of 744 to 1,082 months (62 years to 90 years) in the North Carolina Department of Corrections.
The State was represented by Assistant District Attorneys Emily Davis and Kia Chavious. The defendant was represented by Terrance Hines.
