SC county councilman charged with domestic violence, neglect of child

A county councilman has been charged with domestic violence and neglect of a child.

Oconee County Councilman Matthew Durham, 38, of Mountain Rest, was charged with second degree domestic violence and unlawful neglect of a child.

Warrants drawn up by SLED allege Durham grabbed, pushed or shoved a member of his household in front of two minor children on Sept. 4, 2020. The warrant does not name a victim.

Durham is also accused of putting his 6-year-old child at risk of being harmed by exposing the child to multiple instances of domestic violence between March 21, 2020 and Aug. 12, 2021.

In one instance, the warrant said the child attempted to intervene to protect the victim.

Durham, a first-term county councilman, ran on a no-tax increase promise and described himself in an Independent Mail article as pro-Trump, pro-guns, pro-life and “a Christian, conservative, family man and a lifetime Republican.”

“Having two young children, it is vital to me that they grow up in a thriving Oconee County that is aligned with solid conservative, Christian values. A county that can provide good, well-paying jobs for them when they come of age,” he told the newspaper.

At the time, he said he was a licensed reactor operator with Duke Energy.

SLED was requested to investigate by the Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw.

Durham was booked at the Oconee County Detention Center on Friday.

The case will be prosecuted by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office.

This story was originally published May 13, 2022 at 4:37 PM.