South Carolina Man Ordered Away From Girl He Assaulted at Abortion Center
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
July 8, 2009
Charleston, SC (LifeNews.com) — A South Carolina man has been ordered by a court to stay away from a pro-life girl he assaulted outside an abortion center. Larry Carter Center has been ordered to 15-feet from -year-old Katherine Williams for six months and to avoid further arrests after he assaulted her back in May.
According to the Charleston Police Department’s criminal incident report, Ted Williams of Charleston and his daughter Katherine were participating in a pro-life demonstration on May 2 at the Charleston Women’s Center abortion business.
The police reports say Mr. Center "came up to the orange fence that borders the property and kicked the sign Ms. Williams was standing behind."
"The sign struck Ms. Williams in the foot and the shin," the report added and Williams prosecuted Center for assault.
On June 26 Municipal Court Judge N. Steven Steinert signed a consent order which deferred the prosecution of Center for six months on the condition that he stay 15 feet away from Katherine Williams and have “no new arrests within the deferral period.”
That could be difficult since Center has a history of persecuting and targeting Williams.
Center, who Williams describes as a "well-known pro-abortion activist" who "regularly screams vulgarities at peaceful, praying pro-life demonstrators." He said he and his daughter have participated in pro-life activities at the abortion facility since she was two years old.
“Larry calls her a stroller baby,” Mr. Williams said in comments provided to LifeNews.com by officials with South Carolina Citizens for Life.
He once “picked up her stroller and threw it in a ditch” when she was not in the stroller, Williams said. "He pushes and shoves people away from cars when we are trying to give out pro-life literature."
The prosecution is important to the pro-life movement, Williams said.
“In my opinion, if we do not set an example that our rights have to be respected, as well as theirs, they will muscle and bully us away. That is their intent — to muscle us and bully us away so that we are afraid to come back," he explains.
By entering into the court agreement, Center avoided a possible sentence of 30 days in jail and a possible $100 fine, the penalty for simple assault.
Williams said he wishes the sentence had been harsher, “but I’m happy that he has to stay away from her.”
The pro-life father concluded: “It is important to note I told Katherine he [Center] wants you to go away and Katherine’s response was ‘I’m not going to go away.’ Larry failed in his bullying of a 9-year-old girl and that is the best outcome that I can ask for — that he did not dampen her spirits or crush her spirits. He only made her stronger and more determined to go out there every Saturday and be there.”
Mary Spaulding Balch, an attorney and director of state legislation for the National Right to Life Committee, commented on the case.
“Our people can stand their ground for the babies and they will not back off. Our people have a higher cause," she said.
Related web sites:
South Carolina Citizens for Life – https://www.sclife.org
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