Man gets 10 years in federal prison for felon in posession charges stemming from gunpoint rape of girlfriend

U.S. District Judge Terry L. Wooten sentenced a 37 year old Florence, SC man to 10 years in federal prison for the rape of his then girlfriend.

Donnie Wayne Sheffield was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm stemming from a January 2006 attack where after a cocaine binge, Sheffield, armed with a 12 gauge shotgun, beat and raped his girlfriend, threatening to hang her. She convinced her perpetrator to let her go to work before her coworkers got suspicious and called Florence, SC police – which they did anyway after she joined them.

Because Sheffield was on parole, officers coordinated with the S.C. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services and the U.S. Marshals Service to arrest Sheffield. An arrest team entered the victim’s house, where they arrested Sheffield in a back bedroom. Agents seized the shotgun and the noose, still hanging from a light fixture in the house.

Sheffield was previously convicted in 2001 for a burglary that involved breaking into another girlfriend’s house and beating and holding her hostage. He has other convictions for failure to stop for a blue light, larceny, and distribution of an imitation controlled substance.

U.S. Attorney Rose Mary Parham prosecuted this case, with help from the ATF and SLED (State Law Enforcement Division).