HORRY CO, SC (WBTW) – Jury selection for a trial involving sexual abuse claims against the Horry County Police Department and a former detective has been postponed.
The jury trial was scheduled to begin on Tuesday for a lawsuit accusing a former detective, Troy Allen Large, of using his job to sexually abuse a woman. Large died last year, but the suit included the HCPD and Horry County.
The suit, originally filed in June 2016 by Jane Doe-3, claims the defendants did nothing to stop Large from the sexual abuse. Jane Doe-3 and three other women stated in lawsuits the department did not investigate their claims that Large was assaulting victims of cases he investigated.
The trial will be held at some time, according to the case administrator, but has been canceled for next week.
Jane Doe-3 was the third woman to file a lawsuit against Large and the county and police claiming Large sexually abused her while she was the victim of an investigation. She said she was a domestic violence victim in an investigation and Large coerced her to participate in unwanted sexual acts, including nude sexual-fetish catfights.
The suit states Jane Doe-3 contacted Horry County Police in 1996 to report criminal domestic violence from her husband at the time. It was then that detective Large was assigned to her case.
Two years later, Jane Doe-3 was beaten and shot five times, resulting in life-threatening injuries and Large was also assigned to that case, according to the suit.
Jane Doe-3’s husband was arrested for assault and battery, and it took more than two years to settle the case. During that time, Doe-3 says Large would come to her house, encourage her to get in shape and make inappropriate sexual comments.
Doe-3 moved out of state and several years later returned to Horry County where she married her second husband. In 2015, her second husband threatened to kill her and Large was again assigned to her case, according to the suit.
Jane Doe-3 had not seen nor spoken with Large in more than 15 years, but after he was assigned to her case in 2015, he started going to her house unannounced, offering to help her “get on her feet,” according to the suit.
It claims throughout the winter of 2015, Large coerced Jane Doe-3 to participate in nude, sexual-fetish “catfights” and even transported her to Ashville, NC, to participate in a fight.
Also, the suit states Doe-3 was coerced to participate in numerous sexual encounters against her will, and during those times, Large was in his county-issued vehicle and visibly displayed his Horry County badge and firearm.
Jane Doe-3 is claiming gross negligence on behalf of the Horry County Police department because according to the suit, she believes the department knew about Large’s behavior. She is also claiming her civil rights have been violated.
