Former Winthrop police officer, Charles Eugene Price, has been fired and arrested on over fifty charges including sexual battery against minors, incest, and kidnapping, according to information released by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
According to arrest warrants, Price was taken into custody on Oct. 16 and was initially charged with two first-degree counts of sexual misconduct with a minor under 11 years of age and a 14-year-old. On Oct. 26, SLED agents charged Price with an additional 49 criminal charges including nine counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor under 11 years old in the first-degree, 13 counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor between 11 and 14 years old in the second degree, 8 counts of criminal sexual conduct third-degree, 18 counts of incest, and one count of kidnapping, according to a news release by SLED on Oct. 27.
The arrest warrants served against Price date back from as early as 2004 to as recently as October of 2019. The warrants state that in a case dating back to 2007, Price handcuffed, gagged and committed sexual battery against a 14-year old minor. The warrant states that when the victim attempted to cry out for help, Price hit the victim and told them to shut up.
Another warrant alleges that in 2015, Price kidnapped and confined a 14-year old minor in his bedroom by handcuffing the victim and locking the door in order to commit sexual battery against them.
The Winthrop University Police Department was made aware of the open criminal investigation into Officer Price by SLED in late September, upon which action was immediately taken to relieve Price of his badge, credentials, and weapons. The former officer was then placed on suspension without pay and escorted off campus property.
Price was immediately terminated from the WUPD upon Winthrop’s notification of his arrest and criminal charges and was issued a Trespass Warning Notice indefinitely banning him from university grounds. Moving forward, the WUPD stated that they will be taking actions to have the former officer’s law enforcement certification suspended and revoked by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Training Council, according to a statement by Assistant Chief of Police Charles Yearta.
“During the course of SLED’s criminal investigation, a WUPD Internal Affairs investigation was also conducted,” Assistant Chief Yearta said in his official statement. “At this time, neither WUPD’s Internal Affairs Investigation nor SLED’s criminal investigation has uncovered any evidence that these criminal incidents occurred on Winthrop University property or as part of the former police officer’s official duty as a law enforcement officer. Since being placed on suspension, the former police officer has not been allowed on the campus or any property owned by Winthrop University.”
According to Communications Coordinator Nicole Chisari, Price was originally hired by WUPD in 2004 as a police officer and was promoted to sergeant in 2011. The former law enforcement officer initially resigned from his position in 2014 and went to work for several other law enforcement agencies before being rehired as a sergeant in 2018. He remained in this position until his termination on Oct. 16.
“Each time he was hired, an extensive national, state, and local background investigation was conducted,” Yearta said. “This process is completed for each employee who works for WUPD and at no time was anything negative discovered. During his employment, the former police officer did not have any employment-related complaints, public complaints, or disciplinary actions associated with him.”
“I want to stress to our campus community that none of these criminal incidents occurred on Winthrop property or as part of the former police officer’s official duty as a law enforcement officer,” Yearta said, “There is no active threat or danger to the campus. I understand that this incident tarnishes our reputation and trust with the campus community, but I assure you that this incident does not change the mission of WUPD or its members, who work tirelessly to serve and protect our community with integrity, professionalism, customer service, passion, drive, selflessness, and honor,” said Yearta.
Price was booked at the York County Detention Center, and his case will be prosecuted by the Sixteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office. As stated in an article published by the Herald, he is currently being held in the Lancaster County jail without bail.
