Ex-youth leader at 2 York County SC churches charged with child sex crimes
A former youth leader at two South Carolina churches in York County has been charged with sex crimes involving children, according to sheriff’s office and court documents.
William Pinckney Carpenter III, 62, of Chester, was arrested late Wednesday, records show.
Carpenter is charged with third-degree assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct, and four counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, according to arrest warrants obtained by The Herald.
The allegations happened from 2016 to 2021 to children victims as young as 7, warrants state. The allegations were reported to deputies in March and May 2022, York County Sheriff’s Office incident reports show.
Carpenter was a youth leader at Eastview Baptist Church in Rock Hill and Grace Chapel Baptist Church in York, between 2016 and 2020, when four of the alleged offenses took place, according to warrants, and sheriff’s office spokesman Trent Faris.
One arrest warrant alleges illegal touching of a child at a private residence in Rock Hill, documents show.
Officials at Grace Chapel Baptist Church in York said in written email statements to The Herald from church leadership that Carpenter is no longer a member or affiliated with the church. Grace Chapel Baptist Church officials said in the statements that to their knowledge, law enforcement is handling the situation and the church will work alongside law enforcement as needed.
“Grace Chapel Baptist are just learning about this situation and we are so sorry for anyone who has been affected,” a statement from church officials said.
In a written email statement, Eastview Baptist Church pastor Rev. Chris Mitchell said church officials are cooperating with deputies investigating the case.
“This is the first we have been made aware of these allegations,” Mitchell said in the statement. “Mr. Carpenter is not a member of Eastview Baptist or affiliated with our church any longer. We are broken-hearted for the victims and grateful we serve the God who comforts the hurting. We are praying for all involved. We are cooperating fully with law enforcement agencies.”
Suspect faces up to 70 years if convicted of all charges
The charges against Carpenter are all felonies under South Carolina law and he faces as much as 70 years if convicted of all counts against him, state law shows.
The charge of criminal sexual conduct third-degree carries a potential punishment of 10 years in prison for a conviction, while the sex assault against minors charge carries up to 15 years for each count for a conviction.
Bail was set for Carpenter at $225,000 after a first court appearance, York County jail and court records show. As of Thursday at 2 p.m., he remained in custody.
Court documents do not show if Carpenter has a lawyer.
Church affiliated abuse allegations in York County and SC
The arrest and charges against a person affiliated with a church comes a week after the Southern Baptist Convention released a list of alleged abusers. At least 28 South Carolina pastors, church workers and volunteers associated with Southern Baptist churches are accused of sexual abuse, according to a once-secret list released last week by the national Southern Baptist Convention.
A review of that Southern Baptist Convention list by The State newspaper and The Herald did not appear to show any alleged abusers as affiliated with York County churches in the convention.
Another 30 alleged abusers were identified as being affiliated with Southern Baptist Convention churches in North Carolina, the Charlotte Observer reported.
Police in the city of Rock Hill and city of York charged church-affiliated persons with sex crimes involving children in February and May of 2021 in unrelated cases, court and police documents show. Those cases remain pending in York County criminal court.
In 2019, a former volunteer at a Rock Hill church was sentenced to 12 years in prison after a jury convicted him of child sex charges.
In 2015 a Lancaster County church minister was sentenced to 25 years in prison for sex crimes against children.
This story was originally published June 2, 2022 at 2:44 PM.
