SC caregiver claims injured Master Trooper sexually assaulted her in his home
A home caregiver has accused a master trooper of the South Carolina Highway Patrol of sexually assaulting her while she was administering care in his home, according to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.
A redacted incident report shows that on Nov. 21 at around 11 p.m., an unidentified caregiver was at the home of Master Trooper Wayne LaBounty, 63, for a routine therapy session. As the caretaker was massaging LaBounty’s legs, which were propped over her lap, LaBounty told the woman that he “wished (she) didn’t have to leave” because he wanted to have sex with her, according to an incident report.
From there, LaBounty “lured” the woman into his bedroom, where she found him standing naked, the report said. The caregiver told deputies “she was shocked by what she saw” and attempted to back out of LaBounty’s bedroom. Before she could do so, however, the woman said LaBounty “pinned her arms by her side against the door and began kissing the right side of her neck,” according to the report.
Robert F. Goings, who’s representing LaBounty in a personal injury case against the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, was not available for comment Wednesday.
After posing vulgar questions to the woman, the trooper then lifted the caregiver’s shirt and began kissing on her breasts, the report said.
LaBounty then suddenly abandoned his advance and allowed the woman to gather her belongings and leave, according to the report. As the caregiver walked out of LaBounty’s front door, he said “What goes on in this house, stays in this house,” the report said.
Although the caregiver was scheduled to return to LaBounty’s home for additional care, she called out of work and reported the assault to her employer, according to the report.
LaBounty hit by car during traffic stop
LaBounty was injured following a multiple car collision on U.S. 1/Augusta Highway in Lexington County while conducting a traffic stop on Sept. 9.
LaBounty, a 40-year law enforcement veteran, was airlifted to Prisma Health Richland Hospital and was listed in serious condition, before being released from a rehabilitation hospital on Nov. 7.
The crash happened at about 7 a.m., shortly after the trooper had pulled over a vehicle near the intersection of Augusta Highway and Lost Branch Road.
A deputy with the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department slowed down to check on the trooper during the traffic stop, before a vehicle traveling in the same lane as the deputy failed to stop in time and collided with the deputy’s patrol vehicle.
After hitting the deputy’s patrol car, that vehicle then collided with the vehicle the trooper had detained in the traffic stop, as well as another unrelated vehicle, and then struck the trooper.
Earlier this month, LaBounty, represented by Robert F. Goings of The Goings Law Firm, filed suit against the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department. In the suit, LaBounty alleges the deputy who slowed alongside him during the traffic stop “failed to follow safety protocols and training” by not activating his emergency equipment while in the roadway.
To avert any perception of a conflict, the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department referred the caregiver’s complaint to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
