Beaufort man charged in flawed church molestation case sues Port Royal, DSS

A Beaufort man cleared of a charge of sexual conduct with a 4-year-old at a church Sunday school has filed a lawsuit against the town of Port Royal, alleging its police department slandered him and violated his civil rights in its handling of the investigation

Both Joel Iacopelli and his wife, Marianne Iacopelli, filed suit against the town in Beaufort County court on Dec. 31. Both lawsuits also include police Sgt. Robert Bilyard, the Beaufort County Department of Social Services and two DSS employees -- Latasha Williams and Kyra Speller -- as defendants.

The lawsuit alleges that Iacopelli was slandered and maliciously prosecuted by the police department, which initiated and maintained the criminal process long after his charges had been dismissed. Iacopelli's arrest and the department's false accusations will follow Iacopelli the rest of his life, the lawsuit says.

Both lawsuits accuse Bilyard and the two DSS employees of violating the couple's Fourth, Fifth and 14th Amendment rights during their investigations.

Joel Iacopelli's lawsuit also includes Hope Haven of the Lowcountry as a defendant, which he alleges was negligent in interviewing the alleged victim, according to court records.

Iacopelli was charged July 10 with criminal sexual conduct with a minor under the age of 11 for allegedly touching the child inappropriately during a June 28 class at Community Bible Church in Port Royal. Six weeks later, following a preliminary hearing, Beaufort County Magistrate Richard Brooks dismissed the charges.

Iacopelli's lawsuit says he and his family were unfairly targeted by the Port Royal Police Department for several months, long after his charges were dismissed.

Seized items in the case weren't returned to the Iacopellis until mid-December, and Port Royal officers continued to tell Iacopelli the investigation into the sexual conduct claim was ongoing as recently as last month, leading to fears of continued prosecution, the suit contends.

"The plaintiff's family's privacy was significantly invaded by the grossly inept actions of the Port Royal Police Department, its officers and Robert Bilyard," the lawsuit says.

Port Royal Town manager Van Willis said in a statement Thursday the police department conducted a thorough investigation, and were in the process of contacting additional witnesses and drafting more search warrants when the Solicitor's Office told police there was enough evidence to make an arrest.

"The Solicitor's Office had received information regarding Port Royal's ongoing investigation," Willis said in the statement. "After being informed of what had occurred in the investigation and the information gathered from the same up to that date, an attorney with the Solicitor's Office advised the investigator that the forensic interview at Hope Haven and the statements of the mother alone was enough probable cause for the arrest. Additionally, she requested that the police department immediately get DSS involved. Arrest and search warrants were obtained for the suspect as a direct result of this conversation."

'A BLIND EYE'

Iacopelli's lawsuit alleges the police department negligently arrested him July 10 without probable cause, "turning a blind eye" to evidence that contradicted the accusations of sexual misconduct at Community Bible Church.

Police failed to discern that the girl's story was false, did not tell a magistrate that the girl recanted her story three times before an arrest warrant was sought and arrested Iacopelli without any confirmation of evidence to the recanted account, the suit said.

Iacopelli was denied a bond hearing by Port Royal's contracted municipal judge on July 11, the day after his arrest. That arrest forms the basis of one of the allegations that his civil rights were violated.

A writ of habeas corpus filed July 13 to petition for a bond hearing was deferred "at the insistence of the Solicitor's Office" because the victim's mother was on vacation. Bond for Iacopelli was finally set July 23.

On July 8, before his arrest, Iacopelli was interviewed by police and consented to a DNA swab and a polygraph test. Investigators told Iacopelli they would call him the next day with a time to set up the polygraph test. Instead, Port Royal officers arrested him July 10 on a warrant for failing to take a polygraph test and not cooperating with police, the lawsuit says.

Port Royal police viewed video footage from the church and "discovered or should have discovered" evidence to refute the claims, the suit alleges. Investigators also failed to interview the other person in the room with Iacopelli, the children, or any of the parents, the lawsuit says.

The suit also alleges Hope Haven of the Lowcountry's interview with the alleged victim consisted of "blatantly leading questions" that contained facts "inherently implausible to the known evidence."

Attempts to reach officials at Hope Haven of the Lowcountry for comment Thursday were unsuccessful.

'ONEROUS RESTRICTIONS'

Both Iacopelli and his wife's lawsuits allege that the eight search warrants served at their home were "invalid on their face." All were executed outside Port Royal's jurisdiction without assistance from a law enforcement agency with jurisdiction, the suits say.

After Iacopelli's arrest, Bilyard and other Port Royal officers brought an unsigned search warrant to Marianne Iacopelli on July 15. Bilyard, the suit says, told Marianne Iacopelli she could "do this the easy way or the hard way" and threatened to have "twenty cops come and tear up her house."

Bilyard also threatened to have her arrested and her children put into foster care, the lawsuit said.

She believed Bilyard's threat after a meeting with the S.C. Department of Social Services two days prior, where she was coerced into signing a DSS "safety plan" form, the lawsuit alleges.

Willis said Bilyard would not make any comments about the pending lawsuit.

The police department contacted DSS to begin an inquiry of the Iacopellis, the suit says. Representatives from the department showed up unannounced at Iacopelli's home two days after his arrest, telling his wife her children would be placed in foster care if she did not consent to a "safety plan."

DSS's safety plan did not allow unsupervised contact between Iacopelli and his children, forcing them to cancel a planned, prepaid trip to Sea World for his daughter's 10th birthday, among other "onerous restrictions."

The suit also alleges DSS was negligent in its handling of the case, conducting no investigation and failing to terminate the plan once a judge allowed Iacopelli to have unsupervised contact with his children as part of his bond agreement July 23.

The safety plan stayed in effect until at least Oct. 13, but DSS has never contacted the family since the initial meeting, so the Iacopellis are unsure if the case has been closed, the lawsuits say.

Attempts to reach DSS for comment Thursday were unsuccessful.

DAMAGES SOUGHT

Charges against Joel Iacopelli were dismissed Aug. 20, but elements of the investigation continued into December, the lawsuit says.

Testing on the girl's clothing had come back negative for Iacopelli's DNA on Sept. 30, but he and his attorney didn't find out until Oct. 26.

On Dec. 2, Iacopelli and his attorney planned to retrieve his seized computers and obtain photographs of the tested clothing. Instead, the two were met by Bilyard, who told them a court order was needed to obtain the items since the case had ended, the suit says.

Bilyard returned with another Port Royal officer who told Iacopelli and his attorney the items could not be returned because "the case is far from over, we are still investigating it," the lawsuit alleges.

The officer told Iacopelli the clothing was going to be sent to the S.C. Law Enforcement Division for further testing because Port Royal police weren't satisfied with the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office forensic services lab report. However, SLED does not reexamine another certified lab's analysis unless the lab requests it, the lawsuit says.

On Dec. 16, SLED officials confirmed no request to retest the clothing had been submitted.

Only one item was returned at the Dec. 2 meeting, a Dell computer with its password changed. The rest of the seized items, except for the Windows tablet, were delivered Dec. 15 and 16.

The lawsuits accuse the police department of trespassing and unlawfully seizing those items.

Both lawsuits seek "full and complete compensatory damages" and costs on the state actions determined by a jury, punitive damages, costs and attorney fees on the federal civil rights violations, and further damages that the court will allow, the lawsuit said.

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Follow reporter Matt McNab on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Matt.

Related content:

• Beaufort's Iacopelli blasts police, says he was wrongly arrested, trying to rebuild life, Nov. 2, 2015

This story was originally published January 7, 2016 at 12:15 PM with the headline "Beaufort man charged in flawed church molestation case sues Port Royal, DSS ."