South Carolina AG’s Office: ‘Insufficient evidence’ in case of ex-Hartsville police sergeant at center of News13 investigative series

HARTSVILLE, SC (WBTW) – A months-long investigation by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division into allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct by a former Hartsville police sergeant, who was the focus of a News13 investigative series, has concluded.

The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office said there is “insufficient evidence to merit criminal prosecution” against Mark Campbell following the SLED investigation. SLED noted in its investigative report that many of the women, who were allegedly victims of sexual harassment during their time working with Campbell at the Hartsville Police Department, declined to provide statements to the agency.

HOW WE GOT TO THIS POINT

News13’s investigative series into Campbell began in November 2022 when Campbell was initially named Darlington’s police chief but then backed out just days after News13 reported about his previous firing from the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office.

After that, News13 uncovered multiple Internal Affairs investigations into Campbell while he worked with the Hartsville Police Department from April 2019 to Nov. 2020. Those included substantiated violations of department policies like sexual misconduct. Campbell was also accused of sexual harassment against many female Hartsville police officers. Campbell quit before he was set to be fired.

After News13 uncovered these investigations in early 2023, Campbell, then a captain in the sheriff’s office, was fired in March 2023 and Sheriff James Hudson asked SLED to investigate Campbell and another member of his command staff. Hudson previously told News13 that he was unaware of past incidents involving Campbell when he hired him in January 2021.

SLED INVESTIGATION WRAPS, AG’S OFFICE ANNOUNCES DECISION

SLED’s 17-page investigative report, conducted by Special Agent Justin Cutchin, said the investigation was aimed at looking into allegations of sexual harassment and official misconduct by Campbell. The report mentions News13’s stories from January to March 2023.

Much of the investigative report highlights previously reported incidents of alleged sexual misconduct or harassment by Campbell toward female police officers or others in the community. It also describes SLED’s efforts to speak with many of the officers who previously reported Campbell’s actions to supervisors during Hartsville’s initial Internal Affairs investigations, as well as Campbell himself.

Below is a timeline of the SLED investigation. The pages provided to News13 were heavily redacted to protect the identity of potential victims.

JUNE 6, 2023

• A woman who was a Hartsville police officer during Campbell’s tenure and previously told a supervisor that Campbell often hugged and kissed her but didn’t feel that Campbell touched her inappropriately, “declined to give a statement to SLED” and “said she did not feel she would be of any help.”

• A woman who was a Hartsville police officer during Campbell’s tenure and previously told a supervisor that Campbell hugged and kissed her on several occasions, “declined to give a statement to SLED” and “said she was still friends with Campbell and spoke to him on a regular basis.”

• A woman who was a Hartsville police officer during Campbell’s tenure, and who previously reported “always” feeling uncomfortable around Campbell and that he hugged and kissed her on several occasions, “was hesitant to give a statement to SLED,” and after telling SLED multiple times that she needed more time to consider doing an interview, she “eventually stopped communicating.” Special Agent Cutchin tried between June 6 and 12 to schedule an interview with her.

• A woman who was a Hartsville police officer during Campbell’s tenure, and who previously said he pressed his body onto hers while the two were inside a patrol vehicle before telling her not to tell her boyfriend, “declined to give a statement to SLED” and “said she did not feel she would be of any help.”

• A woman who was a Hartsville police officer during Campbell’s tenure, and who previously reported Campbell coming up behind her and smelling the top of her head, “declined to give a statement to SLED.”

JUNE 7

• SLED spoke to a female Walmart employee, who Campbell allegedly had text conversations with that were sexual in nature and who Campbell allegedly requested he perform a sex act on. She “declined to give a statement” and said she did not have any problems with Campbell.

JUNE 8

• A woman who was a Hartsville police officer during Campbell’s tenure, and who previously said Campbell hugged and kissed her on several occasions, “declined to give a statement to SLED” and said she “would not remember much” about an incident that had occurred between them three years prior.

• A resident who previously reported that Campbell turned off his body cam video prior to putting his hand on her arm during a traffic stop “declined to give a statement to SLED.”

JUNE 12

• Special Agent Cutchin provided his contact information to a Hartsville police supervisor to give to a Hartsville police employee, but Cutchin was never contacted by the employee.

JUNE 19

• A woman who was a member of the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office during Campbell’s tenure but who previously told Hartsville police that Campbell’s hugs were not inappropriate, told SLED that she did not feel she had any information that would be beneficial to the investigation.

JUNE 26

• Campbell was interviewed at the SLED Pee Dee Region office in Florence and provided a voluntary statement, which was recorded. Campbell said he “absolutely did not sexually harass female,” and that he “doesn’t operate like that.” He said during his time with Hartsville, no females at the department told him he made them feel uncomfortable. He said his interactions with females at Hartsville were “normal” and were not sexual or malicious in any way.

  • When asked about a text he allegedly sent to a woman that said, “let me come by your house and taste you?” Campbell said he did not send that text

  • When asked if he sent text messages that were sexual in nature to a Walmart employee, he told SLED agents that he “did not have any contact” with her “after the initial contact at Walmart” and “did not send any text messages after that day,” according to SLED’s report

    • News13 previously reported that an Internal Affairs document about a conversation Campbell had with the Walmart employee in the store showed that Campbell “admitted to the Walmart accusations and stated it was a joke that went wrong”

  • Campbell claimed that then-Hartsville police Lt. Michael Weatherford “possibly spoofed his [Campbell’s] cellphone number to send those texts,” though Campbell admitted that he “did not have any proof,” according to SLED’s report

    • News13 contacted Weatherford Tuesday, who wrote in a statement about Campbell, “He is a known liar who will say anything to make himself look good and to protect himself at all costs. It’s no shock he would deny any accountability and try to lie yet again.”

  • When asked what he thought his relationship was like with female officers at Hartsville, Campbell said he thought the police department was a family and he treated them like “one of the guys.” Campbell said he did nothing sexual and that he “joked around with females,” the report says

  • When asked about a situation on the firing range when he allegedly came up behind a female officer, bear-hugged her and pushed his groin against her backside, Campbell said he was a firearms instructor and would not play around on the range. Campbell told SLED agents that he didn’t remember that incident occurring

  • Campbell was asked about the situation in which he and a female officer were inside a patrol vehicle and Campbell allegedly pressed his body onto hers and then said, “Don’t tell your boyfriend because this might **** him off. I don’t want him to come kick my butt or fight me.” Campbell said he did not remember that incident

  • Campbell was asked about multiple officers reporting that he gave them “side hugs” and kisses on the forehead and cheek. He said he never did anything sexually or maliciously to any females. Campbell told SLED agents that if the sexual harassment behavior was true, it would have manifested itself during his two years with the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office from 2021 to 2023, during which time he taught female self-defense classes to the public. Campbell said there was never one complaint about him during his two years with the sheriff’s office.

SLED’s investigation included News13’s web articles, Internal Affairs investigation documents from Hartsville, numerous Hartsville police interviews, texts from Campbell, a recorded interview with Campbell, South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy records, body cam recordings from Hartsville police, Walmart surveillance footage, Campbell’s resumé and other items.

SLED’s investigative report is dated Aug. 7, 2023. The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office sent its decision letter to SLED on Nov. 28 following a review of the investigation. The letter signed by Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General Heather S. Weiss said the Attorney General’s Office had concluded there was “insufficient evidence to merit criminal prosecution.” Therefore, the Attorney General’s Office’s file was closed.

In mid-November, News13 was told by SLED that the case was still under investigation. On Jan. 3, News13 asked SLED for an update, but SLED did not immediately respond. On Jan. 25, SLED told News13 that the investigation was closed. News13 filed a FOIA request that day for documents related to the investigation. On March 8, SLED requested an extension for its final response. We received the investigative documents from SLED on Monday night.

On Tuesday, News13 contacted the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office to ask if it had been provided an update about the SLED investigation into Campbell. The agency said it had received SLED’s investigative report but not the Attorney General’s Office letter. The sheriff’s office said because Campbell is no longer employed there that it would be inappropriate to make any further comments about him.

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CAMPBELL REACTS TO SLED INVESTIGATION

News13 talked to Campbell over the phone on Tuesday. He said he was relieved that the case was over and that there was “nothing there to begin with.”

When asked if he now regrets what he previously referred to as “joking around” with female police officers while with Hartsville, he said there was nothing inappropriate and his conversations were just “general office banter”.

Campbell said he still thinks that then-Hartsville police Lt. Weatherford spoofed his cellphone number in order to send inappropriate texts to make it look like they came from Campbell.

When asked about the fact that a number of female police officers declined to provide a statement to SLED for their investigation, Campbell told News13 that it “speaks volumes” and that if there had been any problems, they would have spoken out about it.

Campbell said he can move on with his life now. When asked if he plans to become a law enforcement officer again, Campbell said it might be an option at some point and that he would love to potentially serve the community in Darlington County again in some capacity.

News13 has also checked back on the results of the SLED investigation involving Curtis Bryant of the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office. He was previously listed as a captain and the agency’s patrol commander. He’s no longer listed as a captain on the agency’s command staff listing. Count on News13 for updates.

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