The stepfather of the woman accused of drowning her two young sons admitted seven years ago that he molested her, according to court records unsealed Monday morning.
The four-page report says Beverly Russell admitted fondling Susan Smith when she was 16 years old. The reports does not indicate how often Smith was molested or over how long a period.Smith, now 23, faces capital murder charges in the Oct. 25 drowning deaths of her sons, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex. She is being held in a Columbia prison awaiting a trial scheduled for July.
The 1988 petition from the Union County Department of Social Services indicates a Family Court judge ordered Russell and his stepdaughter to live apart. The family also agreed to undergo therapy, the report says.
Family Court Judge Lee Alford agreed last month to release the records after two newspapers, The (Columbia) State and The Greenville News, sued to see them. Russell decided on Friday not to appeal the order opening them.
Charges against Russell never were filed in the case. Authorities were told of the molestation by a high school guidance counselor.
David Bruck, Smith's attorney, has not said whether he will use the incident as part of his defense. He is expected to tell the court by the end of the month if he expects to purse an insanity defense.
Smith gained national attention after she claimed her children had been taken by a carjacker. That story fell apart after nine days. On Nov. 3 she signed a confession that said the boys still were strapped in their safety seats when she rolled her car into John D. Long Lake about six miles east of Union. She said she was suicidal.