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NEWBERRY, S.C. – A South Carolina man is headed to prison after pleading guilty to torching a residence while his ex-girlfriend and her children were asleep inside, according to reports.
In September 2022, Jorge Mora-Vahena, 29, set fire to the home occupied by his former girlfriend and her two children. They were asleep when the arson occurred. The woman and her children were able to make it out of the burning home. However, the residence was destroyed and a pet did not survive, WMBF in Myrtle Beach reported.
On Monday, the criminal defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree arson and first-degree assault and battery charges. Soon after, he learned his fate, according to The State news outlet.
Mora-Vahena was sentenced to 10 years in prison on the arson charge and five years for the assault charge, the latter of which will be suspended to 30 months. He will receive credit of 142 days of time served, and the prison sentences will run concurrently.
An investigation by the Newberry Fire Department, Newberry Police Department, and Newberry County Sheriff’s Office determined the inferno was intentionally set, Fox News reported.
Phone records placed Mora-Vahena at the scene at the time of the arson. He later confessed to investigators that he was responsible for the crime.
“It takes a malicious, evil heart to set a home on fire where children are sleeping,” Solicitor David Stumbo said in a press release. “I am pleased that Jorge Mora-Vahena will be behind bars for a long time, and we will continue to stand with our partners in law enforcement to fight this scourge of domestic violence in our communities.”
Although Mora-Vahena was initially charged with two counts of attempted murder, second-degree domestic violence, and unlawfully placing a child at risk, he eventually pleaded guilty to the second-degree arson and first-degree assault and battery charges.
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