An investigation into an alleged act of “revenge porn” targeting Tiffany Ownbey – the first female mayor of Belton, South Carolina – is ongoing, with state law enforcement agents awaiting the production of evidence they believe could shed some light on the saga.
According to Tommy Crosby, spokesman for the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the statewide investigatory agency is not going to issue recommendations regarding the case to prosecutors until this evidence is produced and analyzed.
“We are going to look at every piece of evidence,” Crosby said on Monday. “And in this case, there is still evidence we are looking to evaluate.”
Crosby did not specify what type of evidence SLED was seeking – nor did he say when he thought it might be produced (or who was in possession of it).
Previously, Crosby told reporter Nikie Mayo of The Greenville News that SLED was “exhausting all forensics and investigative leads” in the case.
Ownbey, 35, became the first female to be elected mayor in Belton’s 164-year history when she defeated incumbent Wendell Page in November of 2019.
As we reported last summer, Ownbey is the alleged star of an undated “pornographic video” which she claimed was used against her as part of a blackmail plot by a former romantic interest.
Her attorney, Druanne White, claimed one of the mayor’s former boyfriends “secretly videotaped a private intimate encounter on his cell phone without Tiffany’s consent.”
“This same man later admitted to Tiffany that he had secretly recorded her,” Ownbey’s attorney added. “He threatened to publicly distribute the recording if she broke up with him. Tiffany informed him that she would press charges if he did so.”
(Click to view)
(Via: File)
Ownbey (above) has used the incident to advocate for a revenge porn law in the Palmetto State – one of only four states that presently does not include such a statute on its books.
“If it happened to me it can happen to ANY female,” she wrote. “If YOU have been a victim of or threatened with blackmail and ‘revenge porn,’ don’t remain silent. You are not alone.”
She has also blasted her critics, calling them “miserable people try to bring others down because they are simply miserable in their own lives.”
According to our sources in Belton – a town of approximately 4,500 people located in eastern Anderson county – the revenge porn scandal has attracted significant attention on Ownbey’s marriage, which has been described to us as “unconventional.”
Irrespective of that … no one deserves to have such intimate moments shared without their permission. Which is one of many reasons why this news outlet declined to publish excerpts of the video furnished to us.
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Our founding editor Will Folks has also decided not to identify the individual who allegedly filmed the racy encounter due to the pending investigation.
Will charges be forthcoming in connection with this case? That remains to be seen …
Ultimately, a decision on whether to press criminal charges will fall to prosecutors in the office of S.C. tenth circuit solicitor David Wagner after they have been furnished with a copy of SLED’s investigative report.
Beyond the criminal case, Ownbey’s attorney has indicated she is likely to file a civil action against the person who recorded and disseminated the video.
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