‘Appalling’: SC jury finds ex-Rock Hill officer guilty on child porn charges
A former Rock Hill police officer found guilty of 18 counts of child pornography could face as much as 20 years in prison after a trial this week in Columbia, according to prosecutors and court records.
Daniel Paul Shealy, 36, was a detective and former school resource officer at the Rock Hill Police Department when York County deputies and the FBI arrested him in September 2023 on allegations that child porn videos were found on his electronics. Rock Hill Police Chief Chris Watts fired Shealy after the arrest.
The jury needed less than two hours Thursday to find him guilty after a four-day trial in U.S. District Court in front of Judge Joseph F. Anderson.
Shealy faces from five to 20 years in federal prison when sentenced this summer, prosecutors said in a statement after the trial.
Shealy’s trial happened the same week federal officials are doing child predator crackdowns around the country. More than 200 were arrested in the past week, the Department of Justice said in a statement Wednesday.
Prosecutor: ‘Appalling’ because Shealy was a cop
U.S. Attorney for South Carolina Bryan Stirling — South Carolina’s top federal prosecutor — said after the verdict that Shealy’s status in law enforcement at the time of the crimes made the case even worse.
“The facts alone in this case were disturbing but became even more appalling because the defendant was a police officer, an individual given immense public trust,” Stirling said. “We remain committed to holding those who betray public trust accountable and protecting our most vulnerable citizens — our children.”
Through a spokesman, the city of Rock Hill declined to comment to The Herald Thursday about the verdict. Chief Watts issued a statement after Shealy was arrested and terminated in 2023 but the city and police department have not said anything about the case since then.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elliott Daniels and Elle Klein prosecuted Shealy after he was arrested in September 2023 by FBI agent Bob Hamilton and York County sheriff’s cybercrime detective Alex Clark.
Weeks after his arrest on state charges, a federal grand jury indicted Shealy on 18 counts of alleged distribution, receipt and attempted receipt of videos showing sexual abuse materials.
Shealy claimed he sought adults online
Shealy denied the charges and asked for a trial, which started Monday.
In court documents and when he testified during the trial, Shealy claimed he did have the explicit videos but did not seek them out. Shealy claimed he did not upload or download child pornography, and that he was not seeking child pornography. He claimed he sought other adults online about adult sexual images, documents show.
Yet prosecutors said in court documents Shealy received the child porn on his phone through an account on the Kik messenger platform. Shealy also made admissions to detectives who arrested him, federal prosecutors said.
Shealy admitted he alone had control of the online account that used his Rock Hill police badge number as a passcode. He had 126 child exploitation videos on his phone and Kik account, prosecutors said.
What happens now?
Shealy, who had been free on bail for more than a year, was taken into custody pending his sentencing.
It is unclear if prosecutors will seek the maximum 20-year prison sentence.
Besides prison time, Shealy faces the possibility of a $250,000 fine, lifetime probation after release, and registering as a sex offender, prosecutors said in a statement.
This story was originally published May 8, 2025 at 2:04 PM.
