If not for the actions of Anson County Sheriff's Deputy J.R. Horne, a young woman who was the victim of a brutal beating may very well not be here today.

Horne was recently honored for his actions above and beyond the call of duty by the Anson County Domestic Violence Coalition (ACDVC).

"We do have success stories," said victim advocate Karen Baucom, "but they are few and far between."

Horne was called in for a well check on the victim, whose identity is being protected, but when he arrived at the residence was told by the defendant that the victim was not at home. Horne reluctantly left the residence and answered another call but couldn't shake the feeling that the defendant had been lying. "He told his partner, 'we're going back there after we finish this call'," Baucom said.

When Horne returned to the scene, he said he saw the victim and "there was evidence of a severe beating." It took a bit of convincing but Horne was finally able to convince the young woman to come to the sheriff's department and make a statement. "She did state to me that he had hit her," Horne said, adding that at that point, he was able to take the defendant into custody.

The victim had to be taken to the hospital. "That is how severely she was injured," Baucom said.

Even when she was in the hospital, Baucom said the victim was still unwilling to press charges. It took a good bit of convincing from both Horne and Baucom to persuade the woman to go through with helping to prosecute the defendant.

As of last week, he had been charged with five felonies— two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, inflicting serious injury; intimidating a witness; habitual misdemeanor assault; and assault with a deadly weapon in front of a minor.

The victim is now in counseling full time, and has a protective order against the defendant, Baucom said. "She's doing really well."

She released the following statement:

"First of all, I would like to thank Deputy J.R. Horne that came out to my house that day. His face will always be in my heart, I know, because without him, no telling if I would be writing this. The reason why I say thank you is because you went over your job duties to help me, even though my love told me not to go. The officer saw me sad and hurt, and he had to do anything he could do to get me help because he could have just went on doing his job duties and left me and my parents would be writing my name in the obituary side. So I would like to say thank you . Not just one time but I can say that I'm thankful and glad that I have this opportunity to say thank you. I would like to let women that are going through a domestic relationship like I was know that it's funny how someone you love can break your heart and you still love them with all the little pieces. I had to remember that death ends a life, not a relationship so get out of it like I did before your name is in the obituaries. Officer J.R. Horne may not be able to come and save or help you like he helped me."

Horne was moved after he read the statement, and said, "I took my job as a sheriff's deputy to protect and serve. I was just doing my job that day. At the same time, I knew that if I left the victim, she was in grave danger— probably in danger for her life."

Robin Preslar, also a victim advocate, pointed out that she is grateful that Sheriff Tommy Allen has trained his officers so well to handle domestic violence situations.

"He made her from a victim to a survivor," Baucom added. "She's the reason why we do this job."