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by ANDY FANCHER
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In Spartanburg County Circuit Court this week, Eric Blaine Powers appeared for a bond hearing in a case involving allegations of repeated sexual abuse of his biological daughter. The proceeding marked the first time specific details underlying the 12 child sex crime charges against the U.S. Marine were outlined in open court.
Following an investigation spanning nearly five years, Powers was charged by deputies with the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office on November 11, 2025, with eight counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor and two counts of disseminating obscene material to a minor.
According to Caroline Kneece, a prosecutor with the 13th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, the case was conflicted out of Spartanburg County at an undetermined point in the investigation. Kneece said Powers repeatedly abused his oldest biological daughter inside the family’s home.
“These acts included digital and penile penetration, fellatio and cunnilingus,” Kneece said in court on Friday. “The victim disclosed her biological father would come in her room at night. He would show her pornographic images and videos and he would ask her to act them out together.”
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Kneece read those graphic details in place of Assistant Solicitor Jacob Hoffert, who appears to be assigned to the case but was unavailable at the time of Friday’s hearing. During the proceeding, she argued Powers posed a danger to the community and that “no bond is appropriate.”
Powers, who was denied bond following his arrest last November, appeared in court Friday after his defense counsel filed a motion seeking his release. He wore a jail-issued jumpsuit marked “County Jail” and was restrained with a belly chain. Standing 6-foot-3, he appeared with an overgrown beard and unkempt hair.
The ex-U.S. Marine sergeant was represented at Friday’s hearing by Jennifer Wells, a former federal prosecutor who now serves as a partner at KD Trial Lawyers, a prominent law firm based in Spartanburg County.
“He is adamant that he did not commit these offenses,” Wells told the court Friday. “We’re not going to try this case today, here, judge. I just wanted the court to know that… We have some real concerns about how this could even be possible.”
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As part of arguing her client’s innocence, Wells acknowledged Powers’ prior charge for third-degree criminal sexual conduct involving his stepdaughter, who was 14 years old at the time of his arrest in that case in 2018. After several years of litigation, that charge was plead down to a second-degree misdemeanor assault.
That outcome did not require Powers to register as a sex offender.
Wells told the court that during that earlier investigation, the biological daughter now accusing Powers of years of sexual abuse — who was 10 years old at the time — made “no disclosure” to investigators. Wells did not state whether the child made any disclosures during later interviews conducted as part of that investigation.
According to Wells, the earlier case also involved a polygraph examination of Powers. She said the examination included questions specifically addressing whether Powers had engaged in any sexual conduct involving at least one of the children in the home, and that the results indicated “no deception or attempted deception.”
Wells noted that Powers was represented in that matter by a fellow KD Trial Lawyer — attorney Stephen Denton — who previously served as an SCSO captain under the disgraced administration of Chuck Wright.
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Despite these polygraph results — which are not admissible in court — neither the prosecution nor the defense referenced a separate 2018 investigation by the S.C. Department of Social Services (SCDSS) that predated any criminal charges. Records reviewed by FITSNews revealed the SCDSS inquiry found a “substantial risk of sexual abuse” involving all three children in the household.
Wells did, however, repeatedly emphasize during Friday’s hearing that following what she described as “everything that happened in 2017, 2018,” Powers moved to Anderson County and has not had contact with any of his biological or stepchildren for 2,941 days (as of the date of the hearing on January 9, 2026).
Despite that emphasis on the length of time without contact outside of court proceedings, neither the prosecution nor the defense referenced that, following Powers’ 2023 plea agreement in the earlier case, a judge issued a permanent restraining order barring contact with at least one of the children.
Records reviewed by FITSNews showed this order will remain in effect until Dec. 31, 2099.
Powers was sentenced in 2023 to 18 months of house arrest and five years of probation for his second-degree misdemeanor assault. He was still on probation at the time of his 2025 arrest on additional child sex crime charges.
“He’s been in jail for nearly 60 days with no bond,” Wells argued in support of a reasonable bond. “We do not have discovery in this case, and that’s part of the reason this bond hearing has continued from the original date. Because the solicitor’s office didn’t have discovery either.”
Wells also argued that Powers is not a flight risk, telling the court he does not possess a passport and that the only periods he lived outside South Carolina were tied to his service in the U.S. Marine Corps. She further stated that Powers is currently employed with an HVAC company, which she said has taken steps to preserve his job while he remains incarcerated.
Circuit Court Judge J. Mark Hayes took the matter under advisement.
This story may be updated.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Andrew Fancher is a Lone Star Emmy award-winning journalist from Dallas, Texas. Cut from a bloodline of outlaws and lawmen alike, he was the first of his family to graduate college which was accomplished with honors. Got a story idea or news tip for Andy? Email him directly and connect with him socially across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
1 comment
Thank you for your service.