Are Horry police, former chief liable for disgraced detective’s acts? Jury will decide
A jury will soon decide the culpability of Horry County Police and its former chief for the actions of a notorious former detective nearly seven years after he was fired for allegedly sexually assaulted victims whose cases he was to investigate.
Detective Allen Large was fired July 31, 2015 after a 27-year career with HCPD and later indicted on five counts of criminal sexual conduct for allegedly coercing victims to engage with him in sexual situations, according to previous Sun News reporting.
However, the criminal case never reached trial because Large — who maintained his innocence — died in January 2018 of natural causes.
Five different unnamed woman did filed civil charges related to his conduct though, and Jane Doe 4’s case became the first to reach trial Monday in U.S District Court in Columbia, South Carolina.
Jane Doe’s 1, 2 and 5 all reached settlements with the county for a combined $387,000, according to previous Sun News reporting, while Jane Doe 3’s case remains ongoing with jury selection taking place as recently as April 6, online court records show.
Large first contacted Jane Doe 4 during fall 2014 after learning about her narcotics addiction, and regularly visited her home under the guise of being concerned for her well-being, but he soon provided her with money and transportation to obtain more drugs, according to her complaint.
He later committed a nonconsensual sexual act and regularly demanded that she participate in nude catfights, she alleged. Large only stopped contacting Doe 4 after she entered rehab during winter 2015, the suit states.
Will the Police department and the chief be held legally responsible?
The civil trial hinges on whether the department and former Chief Saundra Rhodes bear any responsibility for Large’s actions. Doe 4 claims that they knew about his inappropriate actions and propensity to harm vulnerable women but did not take appropriate action to stop him in a timely manner.
Defense attorneys argued Monday that Large “led a secret life,” and these actions occurred outside the scope of his work, according to MyHorryNews.
Large first met some of his victims as far back as 1996, and the county was first made aware of his behavior in 2003, according to the various civil suits.
Jane Doe 4’s attorney called Large’s former father-in-law to the stand Monday to testify that he had warned HCPD in 2003 about Large’s abusive behavior, but internal investigators never formally investigated the complaint, MyHorryNews reported.
Attorneys told the news outlet they expected the trial to conclude Wednesday or Thursday.
Large investigation
Horry Police first investigated Large’s actions in 2014 after an arrestee made allegations she was in a romantic relationship with the detective, previous Sun News reporting shows, but that complaint was determined to be unfounded.
Another internal investigation of Large was conducted in 2015 after a complaint from another female victim whose case he was investigating. Large was fired less than a month after that investigation concluded, and HCPD later asked South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to investigate him.
SLED’s 300-page investigative report — which led to Large’s indictment —caused shock waves throughout the Horry County community as it detailed Large admitting to a victim that he was “bad man” and numerous inappropriate text messages to victims about thongs and catfighting.
This story was originally published May 4, 2022 at 12:07 PM.
