Privileged South Carolina teen rapist violated house arrest 50 times before trial -- because he was 'depressed'

On Friday, The Daily Beast reported that Bowen Turner, the highly-connected Orangeburg, South Carolina teenager given an unusually lenient sentence after pleading guilty in a rape case, violated the terms of his house arrest as many as 50 times in four months ahead of his trial.

According to his lawyer, Democratic state Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto, he only did it because he was feeling "depressed".

"Bowen Turner, 19, was placed under strict home confinement by Judge George McFaddin, who specifically told him he could leave only to meet with his attorneys or for medical appointments, and that he was 'not to go shopping, go to any malls, any vacations, day vacations to the beach. It’s there and back. There will be no frolicking on those trips,'" reported Justin Rohrlich. "Yet, Turner’s GPS monitor caught him playing golf, going shopping, and eating out."

According to the report, Hutto "tried to explain away the transgressions in an email to McFaddin, claiming, 'As part of the therapy for his depression, [Turner’s] doctor told his parents that he needed to get out of the house just a little bit.'"

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Turner, whose father is employed by a local prosecutor, was re-arrested earlier this month after a disorderly conduct incident at a bar, including underage drinking and telling a police officer he would "bite [his] f**king finger off" if forced to wear a mask.

The strangely mild sentence for Turner, who allegedly raped three teenage girls in three counties over the course of a two-year period, has become a focus of national controversy.