A former deputy with the Orangeburg, S.C. sheriff’s office has been arrested and charged with misconduct in office after allegedly engaging in “illicit activities with females” connected to the agency’s criminal investigations.
Jason Kip Nelson, 36, of Orangeburg, S.C. has been charged with one count of misconduct in office, according to a news release from the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED).
From April 2016 to January of last year, Nelson is accused of failing to “properly discharge … duties of great concern to the public at large,” according to a probable cause affidavit accompanying the warrant for his arrest.
What did he do?
Specifically, the warrant claims Nelson “did electronically transmit pornographic and sexually suggestive photographs of himself to females associated with criminal investigations and did solicit sexual acts from females associated with criminal investigations.”
Take a look …
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Hmmmm …
We’re not sure what transpired here (the only details of this case we’ve been provided with were those contained in the warrant), but if Nelson’s contact with these women was consensual we have a hard time viewing this as criminal misconduct.
Clearly someone in a position of authority who engaged in conduct like this during a pending investigation acted inappropriately – and probably deserves to lose their job if charges are true. But if the conduct was consensual? That’s a different story …
Hopefully we’ll find out more about the nature of these allegations as the case progresses.
In the meantime, Nelson was booked this week at the Orangeburg County detention center. His case will be prosecuted by the office of S.C. first circuit solicitor David Pascoe.
As with anyone accused of committing any crime, Nelson should be viewed as innocent until proven guilty by a jury of his peers (or until such time as he issues a pleading in connection with the charge filed against him).
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