Youth Pastor Accused Of Secretly Filming Bridal Parties As They Changed For Weddings
A former youth pastor is facing nearly 60 criminal charges after authorities said he secretly filmed women and girls, including bridal parties and youth volunteers, at the church.
Daniel Kellan Mayfield, 35, who began serving as a youth pastor at Gowensville Baptist Church in Landrum, South Carolina, in 2016, is accused of using his position and privileges to set up hidden cameras in church bathrooms and changing rooms to secretly film women and girls as young as 14.
Mayfield was initially charged on June 1 on five counts of first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of voyeurism. Since then, an additional 52 charges, including sexual exploitation of a minor, have been filed, with the most recent charges coming on July 7. He has not yet entered a plea.
According to a redacted incident report obtained by HuffPost, the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office said Mayfield confessed to recording youth group volunteers in the church’s bathroom on several occasions.
Mayfield also occasionally worked as a wedding videographer and offered his services to couples getting married at the church, according to an arrest warrant obtained by HuffPost.
Gowensville Baptist Church leadership said they "remain dedicated to providing a safe worship environment."
According to the warrant, on two separate weddings in April 2019 and September 2021, Mayfield allegedly set up hidden cameras in the church’s changing room to record a bride and her bridal party changing without their knowledge.
Gowensville Baptist Church leadership said in a statement that they were “made aware of an incident of moral misconduct perpetrated by one of our staff members” on May 27. They said they subsequently terminated Mayfield’s employment and notified the police.
“We remain dedicated to providing a safe worship environment and will be ever vigilant in protecting all persons involved in any of our events,” the statement on the church website reads.
Online court records show Mayfield has remained in the Greenville County Detention Center without a set bond since June 5.
