Horry suspects charged with sexual exploitation of children denied bond

All four Horry County suspects accused of sexually abusing and exploiting two 4-year-old victims were denied bond Friday.

Lindsay Honeycutt, Ambrose Heavener, Anthony Strickland and Panteleimon N. Spirakis appeared before Horry County Magistrate Associate Chief Magistrate Judge Aaron Butler Friday afternoon for a bond hearing. Spirakis waived his right to bond but appeared in court until officials confirmed his waiver.

“You didn’t tell me about the cameras,” Spirakis said to the bailiffs, refusing to enter the court room for several moments.

Honeycutt and Heavener, who are related to the victims, told the judge they could not afford a lawyer and applied for court-appointed representation. Strickland said he will be attaining his own lawyer.

The Fifteenth Circuit Solicitors Office will be prosecuting the case, according to Assistant Solicitor Seth Oskin. Oskin asked the judge to deny bond for all suspects due to the nature and extent of the charges, he said.

“It’s just a heinous crime, and it carries 25 years to life in prison,” Oskin said.

Honeycutt and Heavener are charged with criminal sexual conduct with minor in the first degree, sexual exploitation of a minor in the first degree, engaging a child for sexual performance and incest.

Spirakis and Strickland are charged with criminal sexual conduct with a minor in the first degree, sexual exploitation of a minor in the first degree, and engaging a child for sexual performance.

Before denying bond, Judge Butler asked each suspect if they wanted to say anything before the court. Heavener and Strickland both said they were “not guilty,” while Honeycutt asked the judge to allow bond.

“I didn’t do it,” she said. “I’ve lived here all my life, I don’t see why I should be denied bond.”

The suspects will next appear at a criminal circuit court, where bond could possibly be set. They remain jailed at J. Reuben Long Detention Center in Conway.

All four suspects have past criminal charges, according to state records.

Spirakis is an Adult Tier II registered sex offender, meaning “predicate offenses include most felonious sexual abuse or sexual exploitation crimes involving victims who are minors, including distribution and production of child pornography,” according to the SLED Sex Offender Registry.

He was charged with committing a lewd act on a child under 16 in January 2005 for an incident the previous year, but court records show he agreed to a plea and was released from prison. He was charged with the same crime in October 2010, according to SLED records.

Spirakis was arrested and charged in 2008 for allegedly molesting an 11-year-old girl for three years. He was sentenced to five years in prison in 2010, but that sentence was suspended to two years in prison and five years on probation, according to court records.

At the time of his arrest in 2008, police said the girl – who was 16 – told them Spirakis threatened her with a knife to prevent her from telling anyone that he made her undress, fondled her breast and may have drugged her, according to a police report. The girl also said Spirakis made video recordings and took pictures of her. The girl’s mother learned of the incidents and reported it to police.

Spirakis is the owner of Phil's Lock & Key on U.S. 17 Business. He was also arrested for criminal domestic violence in November 2004, according to SLED records.

Ambrose, who’s related to the victims, was arrested in June 2011 in North Myrtle Beach for shoplifting items less than $2,000, according to SLED records. He pleaded guilty in July 2011 and was given a fine.

Honeycutt was arrested and charged in March 2005 for several misdemeanors including speeding and possession of marijuana, according to records. She was arrested and charged in May 2007 for shoplifting, and charged in December 2014 for possession of meth or cocaine base. She was sentenced to 18 months of probation on the 2014 charge, records show.

Honeycutt was arrested for possessing 28 grams or less of marijuana in August 2015 and was sentenced to 30 days in jail, according to court records. She was arrested in September 2015 for filing a false police report of a felony offense, and that case is still pending, according to court records.

Strickland has been arrested for: criminal domestic violence in October 2007; trafficking marijuana in June 2010; manufacturing and possession of a Schedule I, II or III substance with intent to distribute in February 2012; possession of marijuana in February 2015; first-degree criminal sexual conduct in August 2015. However, the sexual assault charge was disposed in October 2015, and he was not indicted, according to records on the Horry County Public Index.

The first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor charge carries a minimum sentence of 25 years with life as the maximum and is a non-parole offense, according to Jimmy Richardson, Horry County Solicitor.

The incest charge carries a term of 1 to 10 years, and the first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor charge sentence is 3 to 20 years.

The sentence for a charge of engaging a child for sexual performance ranges from zero to 20 years.

“I think the charges themselves are horrific, but they’re just the charges. I’ve seen a lot of bad stuff out there and sometimes I’ve seen it turn out to be what exactly what they say it is and sometimes not,” Richardson said and added that charges could be modified throughout the investigation.

Ernest Hatmaker, Chez Joey club owner, confirmed that Honeycutt and Strickland did once work at the club, but said they haven’t in some time. He did not have the exact dates available Friday. He also said Honeycutt worked at other clubs too.

“The owners and staff of Chez Joey’s are shocked by the allegations against a former employee. Under no circumstances would the club knowingly tolerate such behavior on the part of anyone involved with the club. Chez Joey’s is cooperating 100 percent with law enforcement. The club is under audio and video surveillance at all times and has been released to the police,” he said in a release.

Hatmaker said in a phone interview with The Sun News that he felt confident police would find the club was in no way involved in the incidents after reviewing the video, audio, and computer footage they collected from the club Thursday, which he reiterated was given with the club’s full cooperation.

“It’s America and people are clearly innocent until proven guilty. … We didn’t do anything wrong, nor did we have any knowledge of anything going on. Clearly, we won’t condone that. Clearly the public won’t allow children running around the club,” he said.

“Did it occur there or didn’t it? It’s way too early to tell, but those guys can be tried in the court of public opinion a whole lot quicker, so I hope if it didn’t occur in the club, I hate that it’s there with that,” Richardson said.

Officials say the children are safe, though it’s unclear who their current guardian is.

“The children were placed in a safe environment,” Melinda Lane, Human Services Program Manager at Columbus County, N.C. Department of Social Services said. “We are involved, and we are ensuring their safety.”

The N.C. DSS prohibits the release of reports and specifics about the children could not be disclosed, but Lane did confirm the agency’s involvement with the children and spoke generally about how N.C. DSS gets involved in cases.

Referrals are made to DSS by someone with allegations about children in regard to neglect, physical, or sexual abuse and those reports prompt the agency’s involvement.

Different entities such as, therapist, doctors, and schools are legally required to report allegations to D.S.S., but the referral could also come from a family member, friend, neighbor, or anywhere, Lane said.

The incident report states the children started counseling on May 1, 2015 after a N.C. DSS investigation revealed the abuse, and Lane said sometimes DSS recommends victims get counseling and will refer them to the appropriate therapist for their situation and then DSS will monitor the counseling to make sure it’s being received.

This story was originally published March 4, 2016 at 5:47 PM with the headline "Horry suspects charged with sexual exploitation of children denied bond."