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Legal Information: South Carolina

Custody

Laws current as of August 26, 2025

If my child was conceived through rape, can the offender's rights be terminated?

If your child was conceived as the result of criminal sexual conduct and the offender was convicted, you can petition the family court to have the offender’s parental rights terminated. The family court can grant the termination if the judge believes that is in the child’s best interests. The offender’s rights may not be terminated, however, if:

  • both parents were between ages 14 and 18 at the time of conception;
  • the judge determines that the sexual conduct was consensual; and
  • the criminal court judge states both of these things on the record.1 

1 S.C. Code § 63-7-2570(11)

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