A Bluffton man was arrested Monday and charged with criminal sexual conduct of a minor in the third degree after he allegedly grabbed a child’s behind at a gated community pool last July, according to the arrest warrant obtained by The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette.
Michael Edward Smith, 66, was taking care of the child at the time the incident took place, according to the warrant.
Smith and the victim are not related, the warrant said.
The incident allegedly occurred at the community pool at Island West, a gated community in Bluffton where Smith lived.
He was arrested Monday by a Beaufort County Sheriff’s deputy and held overnight in the Beaufort County Detention Center.
His bond was set at $25,000, according to the Beaufort County Public Index.
Smith posted bond and was released Tuesday, according to the detention center’s online records.
When we publish mugshots
The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette publishes police booking photos, or mugshots, in the following instances:
In situations where a public figure or someone in a position of public trust is arrested
In cases where there is an immediate and widespread threat to public safety
In cases where the arrested person is accused of a crime reporters have evidence to believe involved numerous, unknown victims
Reporters will avoid using mugshots as lead images for online articles in order to limit their circulation on social media, except in cases where the public is served by the immediate identification of the accused. Reporters and editors may use discretion in situations that don’t meet the criteria outlined in this policy but still present a compelling reason to publish a mugshot.
This story was originally published March 13, 2021 at 2:04 PM.
Katherine Kokal graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and joined The Island Packet newsroom in 2018. Before moving to the Lowcountry, she worked as an interviewer and translator at a nonprofit in Barcelona and at two NPR member stations. At The Island Packet, Katherine covers Hilton Head Island’s government, environment, development, beaches and the all-important Loggerhead Sea Turtle. She has earned South Carolina Press Association Awards for in-depth reporting, government beat reporting, business beat reporting, growth and development reporting, food writing and for her use of social media.
