Midlands town councilman charged with sexual misconduct with a minor. What we know
Erik Sickinger, the mayor pro-tem of Irmo, has been arrested on multiple counts of sexual misconduct with a minor, according to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.
The charges against Sickinger, 42, include three counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor under 16, three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and one count of luring or enticing children. Sickinger was arrested and booked into the Lexington County Detention Center on Tuesday, March 4.
The charges arose from incidents occurring between November 2024 and January 2025 involving a 15-year-old boy, Assistant Attorney General Megan Raymer said at a Wednesday morning bond hearing.
Taylor Bell, the attorney for the family of the child, alleged Sickinger had met the teenager on Grindr, a dating app for gay men, and that he had, on different occasions, picked him up from school, given him marijuana and alcohol and taken him to get a tattoo. Bell called Sickinger a danger to children in the community.
Sickinger’s lawyer, Jake Moore, claimed Sickinger was not aware of the child’s age and that the child lied about his age on the dating app. He called Sickinger “a blessing to the community he serves.” Moore also serves as the town attorney for Irmo, according to town council documents.
“Even if he did think he was 18, what does a 42-year-old have to do with an 18-year-old?” Bell asked, in response.
Arrest warrants from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) confirm Sickinger gave the 15-year-old marijuana three times and alcohol once at his home and that he paid for the child to get a tattoo. The pair mostly communicated through Snapchat, an app in which messages are automatically deleted after sending, according to the warrants.
The warrants detail three instances in which Sickinger and the child “performed sexual intercourse with one another” at Sickinger’s home. That information was disclosed during a forensic interview with the Dickerson Children’s Advocacy Center, according to the warrants. That interview was conducted after the 15-year-old ran away from home.
Moore, Sickinger’s lawyer, told a judge during the Wednesday bond hearing that Sickinger had been contacted by the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department to help locate the child after he’d run away from home. Moore said Sickinger cooperated fully with law enforcement to locate the 15-year-old.
Sickinger’s bond was set at $200,000 on March 5 — $20,000 for the charge of luring a minor, $40,000 for each charge of criminal sexual conduct with a minor and $20,000 for each charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He is scheduled to appear in court on April 17.
The town administrator of Irmo confirmed that Sickinger is the mayor pro-tem and confirmed his arrest to The State.
He was first elected to the town council in November 2020 and was tapped for the mayor pro-tem role in 2023. The suburb of Columbia right along Lake Murray is home to around 12,000 people and has a six-member council, including Sickinger.
Town Administrator Courtney Dennis said Sickinger is still serving as the mayor pro-tem for Irmo and that “only the governor can suspend him.”
Brandon Charochak, communications director for Gov. Henry McMaster, told The State the governor isn’t yet empowered to do that.
“According to state law, the governor may only suspend an elected official from office following an indictment,” Charochak said. “According to SLED, an indictment has not been made in this case. Therefore, the governor does not have the authority to suspend Sickinger at this time.”
Irmo Mayor Bill Danielson called the allegations against Sickinger “shocking” and said the town is aware of and working to address the situation.
“This is something I wasn’t prepared to deal with, but we’ll deal with it and we’ll make it through,” Danielson told The State.
In a statement, Danielson said the incident would not cause delays for council business or impact day-to-day operations of the town.
The town said in a Wednesday news release that Sickinger was arrested by the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department and the state Law Enforcement Division and that “the charges against him are unrelated to his role as a council member.”
This is a developing story.
This story was originally published March 5, 2025 at 8:56 AM.
