COLUMBIA, SC (WBTW) – The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office says the former Horry County Police Department detective indicted for numerous criminal sexual conduct charges will go to trial next month.
According to Robert Kittle, communications director for the Attorney General’s office, former detective Troy Allen Large never officially rejected the office’s plea deal, but the deadline for the offer has passed, so the plea bargain is “off the table.”
An Horry County Grand Jury indicted Large in September 2016 on six counts of misconduct in office and five counts of criminal sexual conduct third degree. The indictments allege that Large knowingly used coercion to engage in sexual battery with multiple victims and knowingly engaged in inappropriate relationships with victims of cases he was investigating.
Kittle confirms the trial for Large is scheduled to go to trial the week of September 18.
The second former Horry County Police employee indicted on charges last year was Luke Green. Green was indicted on three counts of misconduct in office. The indictments allege that Green knowingly engaged in an inappropriate sexual relationship with an informant and made inappropriate sexual contact with a suspect during an arrest.
Kittle says Green’s attorney made a counter offer of allowing Green to enter pretrial intervention to work off his charges and avoid jail time. Green would also surrender his law enforcement credentials and never work in law enforcement again. The Attorney General’s office accepted that plea deal.
The third former employee of the police department indicted nearly a year ago was Darryl Williams. Williams was indicted on nine counts of misconduct in office.
The indictments allege Williams knowingly failed to properly investigate multiple alleged crimes and that he used his county vehicle and county paid time to also work for a separate state agency.
Kittle reports neither Williams nor an attorney for the former officer accepted the plea offer made by the Attorney General’s office, so that offer has expired and Williams is “likely to go to trial,” although an exact date has not been set.
The fourth former Horry County Police officer indicted on criminal charges is Todd Cox. He was indicted on 16 counts of misconduct in office. Cox is alleged to have knowingly closed cases without proper investigation and knowingly unassigned himself from cases allowing them to remain unassigned for a period of time.
Kittle says the Attorney General’s office is waiting on a counter plea deal from Cox’s attorney.
In September 2016, when the indictments of the four former Horry County Police Department employees were announced, Chris Eldridge, Horry County Administrator, released the following statement:“The allegations as detailed in the S.C. Attorney’s indictments, if found to be true, represent behavior grossly contrary to the standards and mission of Horry County government. What inspired SLED’s involvement in these cases was the discovery by County administration of improper conduct on the part of several officers, leading to a request by us that SLED conduct a thorough investigation, which investigation ultimately led to these indictments.Significant changes have been made in the leadership of the Horry County Police Department, with a focus on the Criminal Investigations Division. Each of these indictments involve former employees of that Division. The Criminal Investigations Division has a new Captain, as well as a new Deputy Chief of Operations. Accountability measures have been extensively reviewed and improvements made.The more than 250 men and women of the Horry County Police Department work tirelessly every day to Protect and Serve our community. The alleged actions of a few should not diminish the service they provide as they put their lives on the line to keep us safe.Lastly, Horry County Police Department starts with new leadership at the top this Monday with the arrival of Chief Joe Hill. Chief Hill’s focus will be continuing the review of accountability measures for officers and strengthening relationships with the various communities of Horry County.We appreciate the work of the SLED investigators and the care they took in these cases. We also thank the S.C. Attorney General’s office for their time and effort, and appreciate their careful consideration of the evidence. Given the fact that there are now criminal cases involving these former officers, it would be inappropriate to comment any further, as we do not want to impede the criminal process.”
We reached out to the attorneys for all of the men Wednesday.
The attorney for Todd Cox hasn’t returned any of our calls. The attorneys for Luke Green, Allen Large, and Darryl Williams all said they have no comment
