SC teacher facing child sex charges arrested for peeping tom video, sheriff says
A teacher at a Rock Hill school already facing charges related to child porn videos has been arrested again on a peeping tom charge after investigators found a video of an adult staffer on his phone, according to York County deputies and an arrest warrant.
Douglas Melvin MacAlpine, 37, of York, is accused of taking video of a female adult staffer’s legs under a table in April 2024 while he was a teacher at Castle Heights Middle School, an arrest warrant states.
MacApline was released on $25,000 bail after his arrest on five child sex exploitation charges March 31, then taken into custody again Wednesday for the new peeping tom charge, records show. As of Thursday morning he remained in the York County jail.
New charge after phone search
The video of the staff member was found on MacAlpine’s phone after deputies got a search warrant in his arrest March 31, said Deputy Trent Faris, spokesman for the York County Sheriff’s Office.
The peeping tom warrant alleges the video was taken without the victim’s consent for the purposes of gratifying sexual desire.
“Under a table in a classroom is a place where one would reasonably expect to be safe from intrusion or surveillance,” the warrant states.
The South Carolina law for peeping tom/eavesdropping states: “It is unlawful for a person to be an eavesdropper or a peeping tom on or about the premises of another or to go upon the premises of another for the purpose of becoming an eavesdropper or a peeping tom.”
The charge includes “any person who employs the use of video or audio equipment,” state law says. The charge is a misdemeanor that carries up to three years in prison for a conviction, the law states.
Suspect already on leave for sex videos
The Rock Hill school district said when MacAlpine was arrested March 31 he was a teacher at Castle Heights and the boys and girls track coach at Rock Hill High School, according to the statement from the school district. He was placed on administrative leave after his first arrest in March, the district said.
Deputies arrested MacAlpine March 31 on five charges of child sex exploitation after he allegedly uploaded video files online that showed children as young as age 9. Those charges don’t involve any Rock Hill district students, according to deputies and court documents.
Those previous charges are felonies that carry up to 10 years for a conviction and remain pending, South Carolina court records show.
This story was originally published April 10, 2025 at 10:22 AM.
