Ex-SC deputy was out on bond when he raped and exploited Lexington teen, warrants say
A former Greenville County sheriff’s deputy and police officer is accused by the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department of raping and exploiting a 16-year-old girl.
Lexington County deputies charged 31-year-old Michael Scott Valdario of Greer, S.C., with two counts of first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, two counts of second-degree exploitation of a minor, first-degree criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping.
The allegations come a year after the Greenville County Sheriff’s Department fired Valdario following a domestic violence incident, according to police. Police charged and jailed him after the incident. A judge released him from jail on bond, records show.
Valdario was a Greenville deputy from 2015 to 2019 and an officer with the Greenville Police Department from 2011 to 2015.
Lexington County deputies arrested and charged Valdario in the first set of offenses in September.
In April and May, Valdario told the Lexington County teen that he wanted sexually explicit photos sent to him through the Snapchat app, according to arrest warrants. The teen sent the photos, the warrants say.
Lexington County detectives used the photos and messages as evidence to file the sexual exploitation charges.
The detectives began their investigation of Valdario after the teen’s parents took her cellphone and found the photos and messages, according to a deputy’s report. The parents reported the photos and messages to the sheriff’s department.
Further investigation revealed that months earlier, in January, Valdario raped the teen in his vehicle after he met with her in Lexington County, officers wrote in warrants. When she tried to escape, he pulled her by the hair into the vehicle, the warrants say.
“Valdario made admissions to related sex offenses” involving the teen, detectives said.
Deputies jailed Valdario in September and October, and both times judges released him for a combined $100,000 in bond, records show.
The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office is prosecuting the exploitation charges against Valdario. The AG’s office typically handles cases that cross county lines and involve the internet.
The 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office of Lexington County is prosecuting the criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping charges.
The latest charges are the second time police have accused Valdario of violence against a woman.
In March 2019, he was accused of elbowing a woman, making her fall and strike her face on a bed frame, according to a police report. The victim told police that Valdario had been violent with her before and that she feared for her and her children’s lives.
The Travelers Rest Police Department charged Valdario with second-degree domestic violence after the allegation.
After booking, a judge set Valdario’s bond at $5,000, which was posted, and he was released, records show. The domestic violence charge is still pending.
The Greenville County Sheriff’s Department filed a misconduct in office complaint with the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy against Valdario the day after the domestic violence charge. The academy suspended his policing certification, which is required to be an officer.
If he’s found guilty of the offenses against the teen, Valdario could go to prison for more than 60 years.
Valdario’s lawyer was not immediately available for comment on the charges involving the teen.
This story was originally published December 8, 2020 at 3:53 PM.