Horry police acted as victim advocates after funding eliminated

Former Horry County Detective Allen Large says he was trying to help women whose rape cases he was assigned to investigate by bringing them groceries and medicine, giving rides to court hearings, paying for hotel rooms, and helping them find jobs.

Such assistance is typically provided through a police department’s victim advocates, but until last year, the Horry County Police Department did not employ advocates and that responsibility was left to the agency’s detectives, says Saundra Rhodes, former police chief.

The problem with how Large tried to help some women — now part of lawsuits filed against him and the police department — is that the jobs he urged two of those rape victims to pursue were as participants in sexual fetish videos called catfighting that paid $2,000 per video.

“They were doing things that were illegal, that were drug related, that were prostitution, they were stripping,” Large said in a taped deposition. “I just told them that there’s an opportunity, that all I could do is point them in the direction.”

Large admits that the groceries he brought one woman included alcoholic beverages, and that he drove her into North Carolina to pick up medicine at a pharmacy, which a lawyer defending the woman suggested in the deposition was actually narcotic drugs.

Large is also accused in lawsuits of sexually assaulting the two women. One incident allegedly occurred when he provided her transportation to a court hearing. Large has not been criminally charged. He has denied the claims of sexual assault.

Large said during the deposition, taped in March and obtained by The Sun News, that he was the primary contact for victims at the police department because the agency no longer had victim advocates.

Large said he’s provided assistance to numerous victims over the years – men and women – whether it was paying for a hotel room or giving them money to pay electricity bills.

One of those hotel stays Large admitted to was in Asheville, North Carolina, for himself and a victim of domestic violence. The next day, he videotaped the woman in a catfight.

At least four officers within the Horry County Police Department are under investigation by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, an inquiry that began after Rhodes reported the officers to the state agency for investigation.

Large was fired by Rhodes on July 31 after an investigation of sexual assault claims, and Rhodes confirmed during a rare interview with The Sun News that another officer under investigation is former Detective Daryl Williams, who resigned in 2014.

After 23 years with the police department, Rhodes took early retirement last month, saying she wanted to spend more time with her son. Rhodes said an agreement with the county to pay $60,000 into her state retirement fund so she could collect benefits was part of a mutual agreement with the county.

One of the lawsuits against the county was amended this week to name Rhodes as a defendant, claiming she was aware of prior sexual assault claims against Large and that he should not have been investigating or meeting with female victims.

Funding for victim advocates was eliminated before Rhodes became chief in 2012, but she reestablished the position in 2015 with two advocates, and hired two more this year with federal funding provided through the Victims of Crime Act. The federal funding began in October.

County officials have applied for a new grant of more than $200,000 to fund those positions through Sept. 30, 2017, and also pay for training and vehicles, said Lisa Bourcier, Horry County spokeswoman.

According to the Horry County victim advocates’ website, those officials will now be “providing assistance in applying for compensation benefits and other available financial, social services and counseling assistance.”

Victim advocates will also accompany victims to court proceedings, and provide transportation if needed, the website says.

Bridget Daly Musteata, president of South Carolina Law Enforcement Crime Victim Advocates, says it’s the advocate’s job to focus on the victim, so police officers can focus on solving the crime.

With specially trained advocates, victims feel more comfortable and can get their specific needs met. Advocates protect the well-being and legal interests of crime victims, and increase the likelihood that victims will cooperate with law enforcement through the criminal process to put offenders behind bars, Musteata said.

South Carolina police and sheriff departments began employing victim advocates after the Victims and Witnesses’ Bill of Rights was passed by the state legislature in 1984. Gov. Nikki Haley created a task force this year to ensure the rights and needs of domestic violence victims are being met.

“Horry County is behind — they don’t even have domestic violence shelters,” Musteata said. “Victims don’t have the resources there that are necessary, and it’s the largest county in the state.

“As far as on-scene responses, you guys are a little behind the ball,” Musteata said.

Large said during his deposition that victim advocates were rehired only after state officials paid a visit to Horry County Police officials, including Rhodes, and were “chewed” for not complying with the law.

“We didn’t have one for a long time, and once that meeting happened” two people were hired, said Large, who had trouble recalling the advocates’ names.

“We’re required to check off that (hiring) on the list and give them a copy,” Large said of the state official’s demands.

Rhodes declined to discuss the case surrounding Large, or his sworn deposition, but said that former Police Chief Johnny Morgan did not eliminate the victim advocate positions, she said the funding just wasn’t available.

Asked who instead provided victim services, Rhodes responded: “The detectives were doing that. They were also investigating crimes, so it’s a little bit difficult, and I think that our victims were not receiving the services that they actually deserved as victims, and that’s the reason it was such a priority for me.”

James Moore III with the law firm Evans Moore, represents the two women who have filed the lawsuit against the Horry County Police Department. When Large was assigned to their cases to investigate their reports of sexual assault, the former detective quickly dismissed their reports, but continued to keep contact with the women, after which the victims say Large sexually assault them, Moore said.

“Their cases were dismissed as unfounded so quickly, I’m not sure there was time for involvement from victim advocates.

“But, having had a barrier between Large and the victim surely would have impacted the outcome and prevented what happened,” Moore said.

This story was originally published June 3, 2016 at 8:55 PM with the headline "Horry police acted as victim advocates after funding eliminated."