Cop Charged for Refusing to Investigate Dozens of Child Sex Crimes, Gets Off With $300 Fine
Horry County, SC — Those who frequent the Free Thought Project know that cops are charged on a regular basis with sexual misconduct. Many of these cases involve the exploitation of children and most of those cases resolve with the officers doing little to no time in jail. In short, the system appears to protect child rapists or give them special privilege if they are cops.
One of these cops who is part of the system that facilitates the exploitation of children is retired Horry County police officer Todd Cox. Cox was staring down potential decades behind bars for refusing to investigate dozens of sex crimes against children as well as other crimes. However, likely due to his connected status, on Monday, this facilitator of child rape was sentenced to a year in jail and a $300 fine — with the year in jail suspended.
Showing that this special privilege is not some isolated incident is the fact that three other Horry County police officers – Luke Green, Allen Large and Darryl Williams – were indicted in September 2016 along with Cox on dozens of charges of misconduct in office. However, Green’s record was expunged after he entered a pre-trial diversion program, Large died before facing any consequences, and Williams is still fighting for a sweetheart deal.
Cox’s sentence is incredibly insulting given the sheer amount of criminal acts against children he was charged with ignoring.
According to Myrtle Beach Online, investigators say that Cox failed to investigate dozens of cases while serving as a detective with Horry County police. The indictments detail a lengthy list of misconduct. They allege that Cox did the following:
Indictment 1: Failed to investigate 18 cases.
Indictment 2: Unassigned himself from a criminal sexual conduct case.
Indictment 3: Unassigned himself from a criminal sexual conduct case.
Indictment 4: Unassigned himself from a criminal sexual conduct case.
Indictment 5: Unassigned himself from a criminal sexual conduct case.
Indictment 6: He closed an attempted murder case without investigating.
Indictment 7: Unassigned himself from a child abuse case.
Indictment 8: Unassigned himself from a shooting into a home case.
Indictment 9: Unassigned himself from an overdose case.
Indictment 10: He closed a cruelty to children case without investigating.
Indictment 11: He closed a kidnapping case without investigating.
Indictment 12: He closed a criminal sexual conduct case without investigating.
Indictment 13: He closed a sexual exploitation of a minor without investigating.
Indictment 14: He closed an armed robbery case without investigating.
Indictment 15: He closed a lynching case without investigating.
Indictment 16: He closed a criminal sexual conduct case without investigating.
According to the report, the three other officers who were charged with Cox were also involved in this scandal. Instead of taking responsibility for her officers’ actions when they were charged, then-Horry police chief Saundra Rhodes abruptly retired.
As MBO reports, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division investigated the cases against the four officers. The unit uncovered allegations of Large coercing women for sex and inappropriate relationships with victims. Large also discussed participating in nude catfighting videos with some of the victims he was supposed to be helping.
Naturally, Cox’s police union-appointed attorney was ecstatic that his client — who ignored serious crimes against children — got off with less than a slap on the wrist.
“Todd is glad to have this behind him,” his attorney Morgan Martin said. “He dedicated 22 years of tireless service to the community and we feel that a small fine as assessed by the court is a proper resolution.”
https://thefreethoughtproject.com/cop-ignored-child-exploitation-wrist-slap/