Posted on 04/04/2020 3:12:42 PM PDT by buckalfa
COLUMBIA, S.C. A South Carolina Senate candidate vying to unseat a Democratic incumbent was arrested Wednesday on child sex abuse charges.
Michael Allan Letts, 56, of Columbia, was arrested by the Richland County Sheriff’s Office and faces charges including second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor between the ages of 11 and 14; second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor under 16; and third-degree criminal sexual conduct, according to the sheriff’s office.
Letts is accused of sexually abusing a minor child over the course of seven years.
The victim reported the abuse in January when Letts was 55, and he was arrested once the investigation ended, the Sheriff’s Office said. An incident report said the victim recently disclosed the abuse and said it started “by the subject having the victim sit on his lap and inappropriately touching her.”
Letts is currently being held in the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, booking information shows.
Letts, a previously unsuccessful candidate for Richland County Council in 2012, filed last month as a Republican to unseat state Sen. Mia McLeod, D-Richland, who represents the northeast Richland Senate District 22 seat. Letts filed with two other Republican candidates.
His Twitter account says Letts is the CEO and founder of In-Vest USA, which provides free bulletproof vests for law enforcement.
Letts’ LinkedIn account also says he is a chaplain with the State Law Enforcement Division.
But a SLED spokesman told The State on Wednesday that any assertions by Letts that he is associated in any way with SLED are not true. A Richland County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson also confirmed that the Letts who was arrested is the same Letts who claims to be SLED chaplain on his LinkedIn profile.
Letts’ candidacy status on the S.C. Elections Commission website still lists him as active.
There is no South Carolina law on the books that prohibits someone who is charged with a crime from filing to seek public office.
The state Constitution, however, does prohibit convicted felons from seeking or serving public office, and those convicted must wait 15 years after their sentence is served to file for public office again, said Chris Whitmire, spokesman for the S.C. Elections Commission.
Because Letts filed as a Republican, the S.C. Republican Party can decertify his candidacy should they choose.
The deadline to certify candidates is Monday.
Do we not do a background check on these candidates??
Took a while to identify the Republican part.
“that’s not gonna be good or anybody”
What a sick world. Or a small percentage are sick
And they seem to love to run for office.
No political party would accept it.
The media should do it, as we see they clearly don’t.
If they do it all Rats usually get a pass, unless is so public an arrest it can’t be ignored.
Its up to the voter
You never know what the democrats will pull out of the bag when they need to hold onto or gain a Senate seat.
Just ask Obama or Hillary. We have to adopt a wait and see attitude when it’s a democrat accusing a Republican these days, don’t we?
Apparently the perp is or was able to pass himself off as a pillar of the community. Head of a charity that gave bullet proof vests to police departments. Passing himself off as a chaplin.
Only Repubicans get arrested.
Joe Biden should have been arrested for assault.
Says he provides free bullet proof vests to police. Maybe. But that’s a popular boiler room scam, they might buy one vest from all the contributions they bring in.
Nail the chomo to a telephone pole by his nads as an example to other filthy old pedarasts. Or just chuck him in general population and let them deal with it in the standard way for chomos.
WTF is it with so many perverts and sick MF’s gravitating to public office? You’d figure they would hide in the shadows and dark corners and crevices like the cockroaches they are given what most people would like to do to them.
I know someone just like this.
He is the exact same way this person is, pillar of the community etc...
So he’s guilty by accusation alone? Really?
You know a child molester?
They like being among their own.
In a word, NO.
Abusing “a minor child over the course of seven years” sounds like there is only one accuser.
I unfortunately do.
He’s a very manipulative narcissistic sociopath, and about as dangerous a person as I have ever met.
And almost no one can see it, at least not in time to prevent him from getting his hooks in.
Not only that, but unless I misread the article, he is guilty of accusation by only one female. This is a he said-she said.
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