Former Winthrop University police officer charged with sex assaults on minors
A former police officer at Winthrop University has been charged with sexual attacks on minors, including allegations he handcuffed and beat a child, South Carolina officials said.
Charles Eugene “Chuck” Price, 48, of Rock Hill, was arrested Saturday and charged with three counts of criminal sexual conduct with a child, said Tommy Crosby, spokesman for the State Law Enforcement Division.
Price is accused of sexual assault on minors in 2007, 2008 and in 2015, according to arrest warrants obtained by The Herald. York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson said he asked SLED to handle the investigation because a police officer was involved. Two of the charges involved a victim alleged to be younger than age 11.
The incidents are alleged to have happened in unincorporated of York County.
In one of the cases, Price is accused of gagging and beating the child with a belt as the victim pleaded for help, according to the warrants. Price is also accused of using handcuffs to restrain the child, the warrants state.
Price faces as much as 90 years in prison if convicted of all three charges, under South Carolina law.
Price was fired from employment at Winthrop Saturday, the day he was arrested, according to a written statement from Winthrop officials. The police department handles public safety at the state college in Rock Hill, S.C. No incidents happened on the school’s campus.
Price served two stretches as a police officer at Winthrop. He was a police officer at Winthrop from 2011 until he left the department in 2014, college officials said. He was then rehired in 2016 as a sergeant until he was fired Saturday, Winthrop officials said.
Winthrop officials said until Price was arrested, the college had no complaints against Price by students, staff, or anyone else.
“Human Resources is not aware of any employment-related complaints or disciplinary actions associated with Mr. Price,” the statement said.
Price was booked at the York County jail and denied bail in an initial court hearing over the weekend, according to York County court records. He was later transferred to another county jail in South Carolina pending trial, sheriff officials said.
This story was originally published October 19, 2020 at 5:54 PM with the headline "Former Winthrop University police officer charged with sex assaults on minors."
