Former Fort Mill, SC police officer pleads guilty to domestic violence against wife
A former police officer in Fort Mill who was fired when charged with domestic violence has pleaded guilty and is barred from ever having a gun, according to court documents and lawyers in the case.
Stephen James Cleary, 36, pleaded guilty Monday in York County criminal court in a negotiated plea to first-degree domestic violence, kidnapping, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, said York County prosecutor Jenny Desch and Cleary’s lawyer, Ben Hasty, of the David W. Martin Legal Group.
Court statements Monday showed that after Christmas in 2020, Cleary grabbed and held his wife after an argument in their home where a child and a gun were present, lawyers in the case said.
Cleary was an officer for the Town of Fort Mill police department from March 2019 until he was terminated in late 2020 after the allegations were made. The State Law Enforcement Division investigated and charged Cleary because of his police status.
Cleary was sentenced to five years probation on the domestic violence charge, which includes intensive supervision, a permanent restraining order, batterer’s counseling, and other requirements Cleary must complete, Desch said.
“The hope in every domestic violence case is to identify the trauma, to address the need to modify behavior, and to keep survivors safe while doing it,” Desch said after court. “This sentence allows for that if the sentence restrictions and protection orders are followed.”
A 10-year prison sentence on the domestic violence conviction will be suspended upon Cleary’s successful completion of the probation, according to the lawyers and court records.
The sentence for the kidnapping and contributing to the delinquency of a minor charges were 208 days of time served, court records show. Cleary was arrested in Florida after Christmas 2020 and had been held since January in the York County jail.
Hasty said after court he is thankful to prosecutors for a plea agreement that allows Cleary to move to Florida while on probation where Cleary can complete requirements of the sentence.
Cleary is now banned under federal law and South Carolina law from possessing a weapon, Desch said.
And with felony convictions on his record, it is not likely that Cleary would be eligible in any jurisdiction to be a police officer, Hasty and Desch said.
This story was originally published August 9, 2021 at 3:33 PM.
