Port Royal police officer fired over alleged sexual harassment
A Port Royal Police officer was fired last month over allegations that he made unwanted sexual advances to a woman in his patrol car, according to the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy.
Pfc. George Rioux allegedly brought some incident reports to the woman before driving her in his patrol car to a wooded area and engaging in advances that "intimidated" and "frightened" the victim, according to Port Royal Police firing documents the academy received Wednesday.
The woman was an acquaintance of Rioux's and reported the incident in early November, Chief Alan Beach said. The agency requested assistance from the S.C. Law Enforcement Division on Nov. 4 and suspended Rioux with pay that day or the next, he said.
"It was pretty much immediate," Beach said.
Rioux, who refused to answer investigator's questions, was suspended without pay Nov. 23, according to a disciplinary record in his personnel file. He was fired Dec. 17 over the alleged misconduct, academy records show.
Beach declined to say more about the incident, including whether the victim was injured.
"Until SLED finishes their side of it, I'm going to reserve comment," he said.
Reached Wednesday, SLED spokesman Thom Berry said only that an investigation of Rioux was ongoing.
His personnel file states he is accused of "physical or psychological abuses of members of the public and/or prisoners."
He allegedly brought the victim's police records, rather than requiring her to pick them up from the department, as a pretext to visit her, the file states. Rioux then allowed her to ride in the front passenger seat of his patrol car and showed her "protected law enforcement information," including video footage, on his laptop.
A phone number for Rioux could not be found Wednesday and attempts to reach him through the town were unsuccessful.
Before joining Port Royal Police, he previously spent a year at the Colleton County Sheriff's Office, two months with the Yemassee Police Department and about seven years with the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, ending in July 2013.
Rioux was also accused of misconduct that month, and resigned from the Sheriff's Office in lieu of termination.
An internal investigation revealed he had signed an affidavit for another officer without their knowledge, according to records obtained from the academy.
The incident was discovered in July 2013 during a pretrial conference when the other officer denied any knowledge of the form, which stated that he had failed to produce videotape from his patrol car, the records show.
The next month, former Yemassee Police Jack Chief asked the academy to review Rioux's eligibility for recertification.
Hagy wrote that the affidavit in question was one that another officer had "agreed to allow Rioux to fill out completely."
The academy deemed him eligible that month, conditioned upon a one year probationary period.
Town manager Van Willis and Beach confirmed Rioux's termination on Monday but had declined to comment further.
However, Willis spoke highly of Rioux, noting he was an active and thorough officer.
"I'll be honest, I was impressed with Rioux during his time here," Willis said.
The former officer had also been honored in 2011, when he was one of three Beaufort County deputies to receive a bronze DUI Hero pin from the S.C. Department of Public Safety for making 10 to 24 DUI arrests the previous year.
Willis said he'd noticed the circumstances of Rioux's resignation from the Sheriff's Office but was told the interview board and chief were not concerned.
"They had interviewed him," Willis said. "I think they felt comfortable with where he tested and with his interviewing."
Attempts to reach 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone were unsuccessful Wednesday.
Follow reporter Rebecca Lurye on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Rebecca.
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This story was originally published January 6, 2016 at 5:14 PM with the headline "Port Royal police officer fired over alleged sexual harassment."