Leader’s resignation not tied to sexual harassment allegations, Horry County says
A top Horry County administrator’s retirement is not connected to sexual harassment allegations by a former police officer, the county said late Friday.
Former Horry County Police Department Investigator Kelsey Manemeit filed a lawsuit against Randy Webster, Horry County deputy administrator for public safety, and the county, claiming she was pressured to resign after reporting the allegations to administrators.
Horry County officials released documents obtained through a Freedom of Information request and an emailed statement about 5:15 p.m. Friday regarding sexual harassment allegations against Webster.
While Horry County doesn’t comment on pending litigation, “the county does want to clarify that Randy Webster’s retirement, and the resignation of the five county employees, are not connected,” the email statement said.
Horry County said last week that four officers resigned after an investigation uncovered non-criminal misconduct related to sexual relationships within the department. The officers were Manemeit, Lt. Misty Gore, Detective Donald Kobithen and Sgt. Torry Lewis. County public information officer Mikayla Moskov also resigned.
Manemeit claims that Webster made unwanted advances, kissing her cheek, saying he dreamed about her and telling her he loved her. Moskov also repeatedly raised concerns about Webster’s behavior, according to the lawsuit.
Manemeit and Moskov, who is also a part of the lawsuit that claims defamation and wrongful termination, say that shortly after Manemeit filed a sexual harassment complaint against Webster, he announced his retirement on Oct. 20. It became effective Nov. 3. Days after Webster’s departure, the five employees were told to resign or face termination, the suit says.
According to the county’s statement, Manemeit made her supervisor aware of what she felt was harassing behavior by Webster on Oct. 15. The supervisor went to Human Resources the next morning to report the allegations. HR began an investigation and spoke with Manemeit and other employees, the statement said.
HR then notified the administrator, who is not named in the statement, and county legal about the allegations. On Oct. 17, Webster met with the administrator and county legal to be interviewed. During that interview, Webster conveyed health issues and decided he wanted to retire from the county, which ended the investigation, the statement said.
Then on Oct. 19, a Horry County Police Department SWAT team member raised an issue among the team regarding an improper relationship. The Special Operations Captain asked for an Internal Affairs investigation into the claim on Oct. 22, after an “unharmonious working environment” presented itself among the team, the statement said.
The investigation concluded on Oct. 30, and the county released its findings in an Internal Affairs report obtained through FOIA requests.
The cover sheet showed that officers violated the HCPD’s code for “conduct unbecoming” related to sexual affairs. The department confirmed that no sexual activity occurred on duty.
employee on November 4, 2025.
This story was originally published November 21, 2025 at 7:48 PM.
