Rock Hill officer fired after facing child porn allegations
Police said the officer is facing criminal charges after an Internet Crimes Against Children investigation.
ROCK HILL, S.C. (WBTV) - An officer with the Rock Hill Police Department has been fired after he was investigated for committing possible crimes against children, the department said.
Police said they were notified on Thursday afternoon that the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force was investigating allegations that Officer Daniel Shealy possessed and distributed images of child pornography over the internet.
According to an arrest warrant, Shealy is accused of sharing several pornographic videos involving minors on June 1 using Kik.
“Like, you don’t like to think about that happening in your community; that’s awful,” Courtney Kimball, of Rock Hill, said.
Shealy, a 12-year veteran of the police force was charged with second-degree sex/sexual exploitation of a minor.
“It’s shocking to hear it coming from law enforcement because that’s their duty to protect us from people going in that direction,” Rock Hill resident Kenneth Harris said.
After a briefing with the ICAC Task Force, Rock Hill Police made the decision to launch an internal investigation into the allegations against Shealy and issued an immediate suspension.
Task Force officers met with Shealy and took him to the Moss Justice Center, where investigators brought criminal charges against him.
“That’s who’s supposed to protect and serve, and you want to trust the police, so that’s just really, really scary to think about,” Kimball said.
Shealy has since been terminated by the Rock Hill Police Department.
“It’s sad we have to keep caution on police officers too. We’re supposed to be counting on them,” Charod Brown, of Rock Hill, said.
“This is one of the best communities in York County and to learn that the people that are pledged to protect us is doing something like this is beneath the shield,” Harris added.
“Our community trusts its police department to hold itself to the highest standards of excellence and integrity,” Rock Hill Police Chief Chris Watts said in a statement. “We are troubled by the details of the allegations against one of our former officers, as we pride ourselves on being trusted public servants.”
Police said there is no indication that any of the allegations occurred while Shealy was on duty.
Shealy had been with the department since January 2011. He served on patrol until Aug. 7, 2017, when he transferred to being a school resource officer at South Pointe High School, according to the police chief. His last assignment began on June 5, 2023, in the criminal investigations division.
Related: Former Cornelius police officer charged with criminal sexual conduct with minors
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