Midlands councilman accused of sexual misconduct with a minor resigns. What we know
Erik Sickinger, the mayor pro-tem of Irmo, has stepped down from his position with the town after his Tuesday arrest. He is charged with multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor.
Sickinger, 42, was elected to Irmo’s town council in 2020 and tapped to be mayor pro-tem in 2023. He was arrested and booked into the Lexington County Detention Center on March 4 on 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.
The charges stem from alleged 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.
According to arrest warrants and information provided during his bond hearing, Sickinger and the boy allegedly “performed sexual intercourse with each other” at least three times. He also gave the 15-year-old marijuana three times and alcohol once at his home and paid for the child to get a tattoo, the warrants said. The pair mostly communicated through Snapchat, an app in which messages are automatically deleted after sending, after initially meeting on Grindr, a dating app for gay men, an attorney for the boy’s family said.
“The Town acknowledges the gravity of these allegations and remains steadfast in its commitment to integrity, accountability, and public trust,” a spokesperson said in a Thurday afternoon statement announcing Sickinger’s resignation. Jake Moore, who also serves as the town’s attorney, is representing the now former town councilman.
The town provided a brief 13-word letter from Sickinger simply asking the town to accept his immediate resignation. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Irmo will hold a special election to fill the vacant council seat, the town’s statement confirmed. Sickinger’s term would’ve ended in 2027. The date for the special election hasn’t yet been determined.
The mayor pro-tem position, which is appointed by the town council, is set to be filled at the next council meeting.
Without his resignation, the town could’ve been stuck with Sickinger on council. Under state law, the governor can only suspend a public official after an indictment, Gov. Henry McMaster’s spokesperson Brandon Charochak told The State on Wednesday. Since there hadn’t been a formal indictment, the governor didn’t have the authority to suspend Sickinger at the time.
Irmo is a suburb of Columbia right along Lake Murray that is home to around 12,000 people and has a six-member town council, which included Sickinger.
The town’s mayor, Bill Danielson, called the allegations against Sickinger “shocking,” when reached by phone Wednesday.
“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.
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.
