Bladenboro man sentenced to almost 20 years for kidnapping, child sex charges

BLADEN COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A Bladenboro man was sentenced to almost 20 years in prison for the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl in Bladen County.

According to a press release, the judge received evidence during the hearing detailing how the victim was sexually assaulted at a home in Bladenboro.

The sexual assaults started when the child was 13 and continued while she was 14 years of age. Investigators with the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office responded along with the Bladen County Department of Social Services to discover that the victim was using cell phones to communicate with the defendant, Wilton Edwards Jr., 42.

Edwards was ordered to register as a sex offender and to have no contact with the child for the remaining period of his life.