BRIEF: SC man accused of setting fire to home with 7 kids inside

June 29--SUMTER COUNTY, S.C. -- A Sumter man is accused of setting fire to a house with seven children inside in "an attempt to gain sympathy from his ex-girlfriend."

Timothy Ricky Browder, 36, is facing charges of second-degree arson, seven counts of unlawful conduct toward a child, burning property to defraud an insurer and filing a false insurance claim, according to a news release by the Sumter County Sheriff's Office. He was arrested on Wednesday and is being held at the Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center on a $88,500 bond.

Browder allegedly set fire to the master bedroom of the home he rented in the 3100 block of Richland Drive in Sumter on June 4, according to arrest warrants.

In a written statement to officials, Browder implicated himself by stating that he set fire to the bedroom in hopes of gaining sympathy from his ex-girlfriend, who had recently moved out, the warrants said. Seven children were in the home at the time.

The warrants do not detail injuries to any of the children or say whose children they are.

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