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Agents of the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) have filed fresh charges against a rural town councilman and former dean of students at a prestigious Midlands-area military school.
John A. Heflin, 54, of Bethune, S.C., was previously charged last September with one count of criminal solicitation of a minor. A member of Bethune’s town council, Heflin was charged this week with several additional alleged crimes – disseminating harmful material to a minor, second degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor under the age of sixteen, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and third degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor.
Probable cause affidavits accompanying the warrants for Heflin’s arrest noted that in mid-2014, during “multiple separate incidents,” he allegedly committed sexual battery on an unnamed juvenile victim – including acts of “forced sexual intercourse.”
Heflin was an instructor at Camden Military – and the alleged victim was a student – at the time of these alleged assaults.
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During the same time frame – from May 31 and August 31, 2014 – Heflin also allegedly provided an unnamed juvenile “beer and liquor,” according to another affidavit. Yet another accused Heflin of providing an unnamed juvenile with “pornographic material for the purpose of masturbating with the juvenile while both watched.”
According to the affidavits, the “now-adult victim” provided details of the alleged assault during an interview with SLED agents.
Finally, Heflin was accused of molesting another minor victim under the age of sixteen by “touching the juvenile victim’s penis over the clothing” during the 2022 spring semester.
As SLED noted in announcing last year’s charge against Heflin, its investigation is “active and ongoing.” Anyone with information related to the inquiry should reach out to the agency at 803-896-2605 or email tips@sled.sc.gov.
“If you or someone you know may have been a victim involved with this matter, SLED recognizes it may be difficult to come forward,” the agency said in its statement. “Please know that survivor resources are available.”
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RELATED | MILITARY SCHOOL LEADER, COUNCILMAN ARRESTED
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The investigation into Heflin – requested by the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) – appears to have been initiated following an alleged incident involving a cadet last fall. According to SLED’s initial release, on September 14, 2024 Heflin “did induce, entice and persuade (a) juvenile victim to send him a picture of his penis via Snapchat.” The victim was a cadet at Camden Military Academy at the time.
Prior to the photo being sent, Heflin “had engaged in sexually explicit conversations” with the cadet – conversations which reportedly dated back to 2022.
“Heflin told the (juvenile victim) he wanted to get him alone on the dirt roads of Bethune to be one on one, and what he would ‘love to do’ if the (victim) came to his house,” the affidavit added.
Per the S.C. Code of Laws (§ 16-3-655), Heflin is facing up to twenty years in prison on the second degree criminal sexual conduct charge alone.
As with anyone accused of committing any crime, Heflin is considered innocent until proven guilty by our criminal justice system – or until such time as he may wish to enter some form of allocution in connection with a plea agreement with prosecutors related to any of the charges filed against him.
As he was last fall, Heflin was booked at the Kershaw County detention center. His case will be prosecuted by the office of S.C. fifth circuit solicitor Byron Gipson.
Stay tuned to FITSNews for pertinent updates related to this case…
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THE RELEASE…
(SLED)
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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7 comments
Inexcusable behavior by someone who should have been trustworthy. Shameful.
That’s EXACTLY how and why these pedophiles are able to seduce and abuse their victims. Shameful- yes. But I’d take it further – criminal and heinous.
There’s been talk of weird stuff going on at that school for decades. Supposedly, the authorities could never substantiate it, but I believe there was something to it.
He was formerly a coach at Cambridge Academy in Greenwood.
This is sick. It keeps happening. RJ May, leader of the SC Freedom Caucus was denied bail. Teachers in SC have been arrested. Time to stop this crap.
Years ago, there was talk of naming any CMA sports teams, “The Groped Members”.
Practically every gay man I have ever known decently well ends up confessing (after a period of time that established trust) that they were groomed and molested by an older man while they were a young teenager – although most of the groomer’s victims don’t end up doing it themselves to others later. Seems like about a 20-30% portion of the gay male population that does this stuff, which perpetuates it down through the ages.