Police: Columbia Man Arrested for Kidnapping, Raping Girl at Gunpoint

Lexington County Sheriff’s Department detectives arrested a 23-year-old Columbia man Saturday for allegedly kidnapping an 11-year-old girl and sexually assaulting her at gunpoint at a St. Andrews area motel.

 Lexington County Sheriff James Metts said detectives arrested Eddie Jamar Bamberg, of Davidson Road in Columbia, on charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, possessing a weapon during the commission of a violent crime and possessing marijuana.

According to the sheriff’s department, the father of the 11-year-old girl told deputies that his daughter ran away from home about midnight on Saturday because she was facing discipline from her parents.

Police say the man is acquainted with the 11-year-old girl’s mother.

Arrest warrants allege that Bamberg took the 11-year-old girl to the motel on Burning Tree Drive and forced her to enter a room that he rented.

He allegedly pointed a gun at the 11-year-old girl and forced her to smoke a marijuana cigarette. Bamberg then forced the girl to have sexual intercourse with him, according to a release from the sheriff’s department.

The 11-year-old girl later escaped from the motel room and walked to a cousin’s residence, where she was able to seek help, Metts said. At about 3:46 a.m. on Saturday, the 11-year-old girl’s father contacted the sheriff’s department to report his daughter had been sexually assaulted.

Deputies met with the girl and her father at Palmetto Health Richland Hospital, where a sexual assault nurse examiner performed a medical exam on the 11-year-old girl.

Bamberg was being held Monday at the Lexington County Detention Center on bail totaling $260,000.

If convicted, Bamberg faces a total of 60 years in prison — a maximum of 30 years in prison for each charge.