2 Beaufort Co. teens jailed, accused of creating fake Instagram page to slander former teacher
The Instagram account was only active for one day, but its long-gone posts may have come back to bite two Beaufort County teens.
Raven Benjamin, 19, of Lady’s Island, was arrested Wednesday afternoon on two charges of libel and slander, followed by the Friday morning arrest of 19-year-old Yemassee resident Zachary Chandler on the same charges. Beaufort County investigators allege the teens created an Instagram page impersonating their former high school teacher, using the public profile to falsely accuse the teacher and a school counselor of serious crimes.
The last time someone in the county was arrested for the same charge was 28 years ago — 15 years before Instagram was launched.
The Instagram account was created on Jan. 21 before being removed by the platform the next day, said Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Maj. Angela Viens. But in the profile’s one-day lifespan, Benjamin and Chandler made posts accusing both school employees of crimes that would “grossly impact their reputation” as professionals working with children, Viens said. Screenshots of the online allegations eventually made their way to police.
Benjamin and Chandler graduated in 2022 from Lowcountry Montessori School, public charter school utilizing the child-centered Montessori Method in Port Royal. Both employees who were targeted by the account are no longer affiliated with the school, said director Amy Horn.
Viens would not specify what kind of accusations the former students made or how many libelous posts were on the now-deleted account.
The pair of arrests marked Beaufort County’s first criminal charges for libel and slander since 1995, Viens told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. Libel and slander cases are almost always handled in civil court, but police brought criminal charges against the two teens because their alleged false statements involved public accusations of highly serious crimes.
Libel and slander is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison or a $5,000 fine, according to South Carolina law.
Both teens were later released from the Beaufort County Detention Center on $5,000 recognizance bonds.
This story was originally published June 9, 2023 at 10:50 AM.
