BRUNSWICK COUNTY — Denzel Jamal Hill, 25, was sentenced to spend 144 to 166 years in state prison Tuesday afternoon; this after a Brunswick County jury found him guilty of numerous sex crimes following a week-long trial, according to a press release from District Attorney John David.
The Leland man was convicted of 33 counts of statutory rape, 17 Counts of indecent liberties with a child, 11 counts of felony assault, and two counts of kidnapping two counts of forcible sex offense and one count of statutory sex offense.
The jury found that Hill assaulted two different victims from 2011 to 2014, he was in relationships with both victims at the time the assaults took place.
According to the release, “The victims testified and told similar stories of their interactions with Hill. The victims testified that the relationship turned violent very quickly, and the paralyzing fear of Hill kept them from leaving the relationship. Each victim told the jury the assaults became more harsh and more frequent later in the relationship, showing the jury scars from beatings they endured at the hands of Hill.
The victims each knew Hill to possess firearms and Hill had threatened each of them with those weapons if they spoke about the violence, reported his actions or left him.”
Following the verdict Tuesday morning, Judge Bell sentenced Hill to 144 to 166 years in the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections. Judge Bell also ordered that a permanent protective order be put in place, prohibiting Hill from contacting either victim for the rest of their lives.
Judge Bell also ordered that Hill be subjected to the Sex Offender Registry and satellite-based monitoring for the rest of his life.
The victims gave impact statements following the return of the guilty verdict, and shared how this man had effected each of their lives.
One victim told the Court, “All those times he was beating me, I was begging him to stop and he never did.”
The other victim shared with the Court how this had changed her life forever and how the defendant had stolen her ability to lead a normal life.
“I’ve never seen a defendant more deserving of a life sentence,” Assistant District Attorney Jamie Darroch said. “This is not an isolated incident. The defendant has demonstrated a pattern of evil behavior for four to five years. He’s shown this community he will re-offend and do this to someone else because he already has.”
“This was a case of unthinkable violence that most of us couldn’t imagine in our darkest nightmares, but it’s also a story of survival – a story of two young women who found their voices after being silenced by the defendant for years,” Darroch said. “These young ladies found the courage to face the defendant and relive the worst days of their lives. They asked the jury to find the courage to hold the defendant accountable and that’s exactly what the jury did.”
According to the release, Detective Ron Clarke and First Sergeant Tate Bond, both of the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office, worked tirelessly to complete this investigation and make this result possible. Advocates with the Rape Crisis Center of Coastal Horizons were present with the victims for the duration of trial to help them through the process.
