A high school teacher and coach from Midlands, Peter Roderick Calhoun Jr., has been arrested on charges of sexual misconduct involving a student, according to the Sumter Police Department’s announcement on Monday. Court records indicate that the 57-year-old resident of Simpsonville was charged with sexual battery with a student aged 18 or older, under his direct supervision, with no aggravated force or coercion. Calhoun is a faculty member at Lakewood High School and is alleged to have been involved in an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student.
Police identify Calhoun as a coach at the school situated on Old Manning Road. The school’s records also state his role as a physical education teacher. The police initiated an investigation in early May following an indecent exposure call in Sumter involving Calhoun and a female student. Further inquiries revealed multiple encounters between Calhoun and the student, none of which took place on Sumter School District property.
The exact duration of the inappropriate relationship remains undisclosed. Moreover, there is no information on whether other students were victimized by Calhoun. He was arrested and held at the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center. Details about his bail status are not available. The school district spokesperson, Shelly Galloway, informed that Calhoun, who joined the school in August 2022, has been put on administrative leave. However, the investigation concerning Calhoun is ongoing. If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of five years, as per South Carolina law.
This incident marks the third instance since mid-March where a Sumter County school employee has been charged with sex crimes involving minors. Earlier on April 6, Crestwood High School’s girls basketball coach, Tony Wilson, was charged with several offenses, including criminal sexual conduct with a minor. He later posted a $75,000 bond and resigned from his position. On March 20, Andre Girard Johnson, a coach at Sumter Christian School, was charged with criminal solicitation of a minor after reportedly sending inappropriate texts to a student. After charges were filed, he was released on a $5,000 bond and was terminated by the school.
