Former South Carolina Coroner Accused Of Child Sex Abuse

A former deputy coroner in South Carolina has been arrested on six counts of child sex abuse.

News outlets reported that 50-year-old Kip Dwayne Teal of Lyman has been charged with three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor and three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

Teal had worked in various law enforcement agencies in Spartanburg County over 22 years.

He most recently was a deputy coroner, but resigned from that position last May.

Indictments unsealed last week show that the sexual abuse occurred from 2013 to 2016.

Rusty Clevenger, the Spartanburg County coroner, confirmed to Fox Carolina that Teal worked at his office. However, he claimed that Teal did not handle any cases once the allegation against him became known.

Additionally, Clevenger told Fox Carolina that Teal resigned because he allegedly misused county property.

Photo: Spartanburg County Detention Center

“Kip was a good investigator, but even before this investigation began, Mr. Teal experienced a problem — it was a personnel matter that was unrelated to the [criminal sexual conduct] investigation,” Clevenger said, according to the Spartanburg Herald-Journal.

Meanwhile, Duncan Police Chief C.E. Long told the Herald-Journal that he was Teal’s captain from 2005-2007, and added that he wasn’t aware of any misconduct on Teal’s part during his tenure at the department.

“He was a good officer,” Long said. “As far as his personal life, there was nothing criminal or anything like that.”

The State Law Enforcement Division handled the investigation and the South Carolina Attorney General's Office is prosecuting because of Teal's connections to Spartanburg area law enforcement. It was not known whether he has an attorney yet.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.