Ex-Lancaster SC school police officer charged for Instagram sex act video with minor
A former South Carolina school police officer in Lancaster has been arrested after he allegedly performed a sexual act during a live video chat session with a minor on Instagram, officials said.
Justine Jay Hatfield, 34, of Lancaster County, was a former school resource officer for the Lancaster Police Department, according to a release from the State Law Enforcement Division.
Hatfield was arrested Wednesday on two counts of criminal solicitation of a minor, SLED officials said in the release.
Hatfield is accused of performing sexual acts on himself while in a live video chat with a minor on the social media platform on May 13, according to arrest warrants obtained by The Herald.
“Hatfield, who was a former Lancaster Police Department School Resource Officer, was familiar with the victim and knew the victim was under the age of 18,” according to a SLED affidavit that is part of the arrest warrant.
Police officers familiar with Hatfield identified him as the person in the recording, the affidavit stated.
Kayla Vaughan, spokesperson for the Lancaster Police Department, said in a statement to The Herald Wednesday night that Hatfield is a former police officer at the department, but was not employed at the department at the time of the incident in May.
Hatfield left the department before the investigation began, Vaughn said.
It is not clear how long Hatfield had been with the Lancaster Police Department.
Lancaster police first reported the incident to Lancaster County sheriff’s deputies, who then contacted SLED, according to SLED and Vaughan. Hatfield was not an employee of the sheriff’s office, said sheriff’s office spokesman Doug Barfield.
Lancaster is a city of about 9,000 people in Lancaster County that is east of Rock Hill and south of Charlotte.
Charges are felonies
South Carolina law defines criminal solicitation of a minor as: “A person 18 years of age or older commits the offense of criminal solicitation of a minor if he knowingly contacts or communicates with, or attempts to contact or communicate with, a person who is under the age of 18, or a person reasonably believed to be under the age of 18, for the purpose of or with the intent of persuading, inducing, enticing, or coercing the person to engage or participate in a sexual activity.”
The charge is a felony and carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison, state law shows.
Hatfield was booked into the Lancaster County jail Wednesday.
This story was originally published May 25, 2022 at 10:06 PM.
