Federal judge will hear lawsuits against Horry County Police

Two lawsuits against the Horry County Police Department claiming a former detective abused victims of sexual assault will be heard in federal court.

The cases were transferred from the Horry County Court of Common Pleas and are now under the jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court in Florence, according to federal court records.

There are three lawsuits filed by victims identified as Jane Doe 1, Jane Doe 2 and Jane Doe 3. The only cases moved to federal court are those filed by Jane Does 2 and 3 because those cases allege that constitutional and civil rights were violated.

The women are suing the police department and former Detective Allen Large alleging that the officer sexually harassed them and coerced them to participate in nude sexual fetish videos called catfighting. Two of the women, Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2, say they were sexually assaulted by Large.

Large denied in a deposition conducted in March that he sexually assaulted the women, but admitted to encouraging them to participate in the catfight videos.

The case was moved to federal court at the request of the defense lawyers. The notice of removal was filed July 13, and R. Bryan Hartwell is now the presiding judge.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is still investigating several individuals who worked for the police department. The police department has experienced key turnovers at the top level in recent months.

Former Chief Saundra Rhodes retired in May, and acting chief Kelvin Waites stepped down a month later to accept the police chief job in Georgetown. Deputy Chief Scott Rutherford announced his retirement on the heels of Rhodes’ departure.

Horry County officials are now interviewing candidates to fill the chief position.

This story was originally published July 21, 2016 at 5:44 PM with the headline "Federal judge will hear lawsuits against Horry County Police."