Union County sheriff indicted for sending ‘obscene sexual’ photo, AG’s office says
Union County Sheriff David Taylor has been indicted for sending a sexually obscene photo from his county cell phone, according to authorities.
The county grand jury indicted Taylor on two counts: one for sending obscene material and one for misconduct in office.
In September 2015, Taylor sent “indecent, inappropriate and obscene” text messages and a photo “depicting obscene sexual conduct” to a person in Union County, the indictment said.
The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office will handle the case against Taylor, said Kevin Brackett, the solicitor for the 16th Judicial Circuit, which is made up of York and Union counties.
Brackett said the attorney general’s office took over the case and any prosecution to avoid any conflict of interest that might arise from Brackett’s office dealing with Sheriff Taylor and his office on so many other cases.
Scandal has marred the Union County Sheriff’s Office for years.
In February 2018, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division began an investigation into the office’s finances after Taylor reported irregularities to the state police.
That investigation took a turn when an employee of the sheriff’s office told investigators that Taylor behavior as sheriff was “immoral,” according to reports.
Investigators discovered that Taylor had sent lewd text messages to deputies and asked others to buy him alcohol while on duty, the AP reported.
Taylor said some of the allegations were true but others were not. Ultimately, prosecutors cleared Taylor of any criminal wrongdoing from the 2018 investigation.
But Taylor didn’t escape reprimand. Union County Council asked Taylor to resign in February but he refused.
The latest charges come after two month long SLED investigation.
Taylor isn’t the first Union County Sheriff to be charged with a crime.
In September 2010, former Union County Sheriff Howard Wells was sentenced to 90 days in prison for lying to federal agents and other charges.
