Jury verdict: Horry police, former chief responsible for disgraced detective’s actions
The Horry County Police Department and its former chief failed in their duties to protect a victim from a detective with a known history of sexual assaults, a jury ruled Monday.
The ruling is the first jury verdict assessing the department’s culpability in the actions of former Detective Allen Large, who was fired in 2015 after a 27-year career with HCPD.
He was later indicted on five counts of criminal sexual conduct for allegedly coercing victims to engage with him in sexual situations, but died in 2018 before those charges reached trial.
The jury unanimously found in favor of Jane Doe 4 — one of five anonymous victims to file civil suits related to Large’s actions — on three counts of negligence by the department and a constitutional claim against former Chief Saundra Rhodes, according to their verdict.
Doe 4 was awarded $500,000 in damages from HCPD and $1 from Rhodes, as the jury noted in its verdict that it did not find clear and convincing evidence that the victim was entitled to punitive damages against Rhodes.
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 trial is set to begin Tuesday, according to online court records.
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.
The trial started lasted last Monday in U.S District Court in Columbia, South Carolina.
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 9, 2022 at 5:50 PM.
