A South Carolina man accused of raping multiple teen girls and visiting the gravesite of one of his victims after she killed herself is back behind bars.
According to WIS News, Orangeburg County Court Judge Roger Young revoked 19-year-old Bowen Turner’s bond, ordered him to jail, and ordered him to register as a sex offender.
Bowen has been accused by three different teen girls of sexual assault and has reportedly broken his bond conditions on numerous occasions.
“To know that Bowen Turner is going to serve a sentence in the Department of Corrections and will be on the sex offender registry, these are things these families have been pleading for, for months and years,” Sarah Ford, the victims’ lawyer, said.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Orangeburg County Court Judge Markley Dennis sentenced Turner in April to five years of probation as part of a plea deal after he admitted to assaulting a woman in 2019.
The deal reduced a charge of first-degree criminal sexual assault charge to first-degree assault and battery, even though the victim was willing to testify. In another case, prosecutors dropped charges against Bowen because the alleged victim, 18-year-old Dallas Stoller, died in November as court proceedings were pending.
Stoller’s family told the Murdaugh Murders podcast that she committed suicide after intense abuse and harassment from peers and even teachers. The family added that they were sickened to learn that data from Turner’s ankle monitor shows he visited Stoller’s gravesite in January.
A sign at the gravesite now states: “Bowen Turner, you are NOT welcomed here!”
Stoller alleged that Turner raped her in October 2018 at a party, where her friends discovered her unconscious lying on the ground while Turner was standing and putting his pants back on. Turner had scratches and bruises all over her body.
Turner’s family said they expected backlash from the community when she reported the rape because Turner has connections to powerful figures in the community, including through his father, who is an investigator for the local prosecutor.
Stoller and Turner were both students at Orangeburg Preparatory School, where their peers and even some teachers backed Turner, Stoller’s family told the podcast.
“She actually had to stay in school with him for two weeks while the school board decided what they were going to do when he was charged,” Stoller’s sister told the podcast. “She had to walk the halls in school with him for two weeks after the fact.”
Stoller’s father added: “She was at the time her senior class president, so she was well known in her school and in her class. She was pushed around pretty badly by the kids who drew the line in the sand and took sides.”
Even so, Stoller wanted Turner to get help and did not want revenge against him. She wanted to make sure no one else got hurt.
“She had a big enough heart, saying that he was sick and he needed to get help, and she didn’t want to ruin his life. Even though he ultimately ruined hers, she did not want to ruin his life, but she knew he was sick and he would hurt someone else,” Stoller’s sister told the podcast.
“They were friends before all of this.”
*Previous Video Coverage*
Her father told the podcast, “Even after this happened, she said, ‘Bowen is my friend, I don’t want him hurt, I just want him to get help because he’s got something going on.’”
Stoller later began attending the College of Charleston and had hoped for a fresh start. But some of her high school peers also attended the school and continued to bully her. She would get physically ill from the anxiety, develop ulcers, and was hospitalized several times.
“I really can’t explain to you the mental impact that this had on her,” her sister told the podcast.
Stoller transferred to the University of South Carolina at Beaufort, and even though she was getting help from a therapist, she continued to struggle.
On November 12, Stoller died from a self-inflicted injury, according to the podcast.
Police logs show that Turner had violated his bond dozens of other times, visiting golf courses, restaurants, shopping centers and even going out of state, according to WCSC-TV.
Check back for updates.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Feature Photo: Dallas Stoller and Bowen Turner/Family Handout; Police Handout]
