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Walter Clayton Pate III of Charleston, South Carolina has been the beneficiary of a string of controversial judicial decisions after he was accused of voyeurism, kidnapping, attempted murder and criminal sexual conduct in 2023.
Pate repeatedly appeared before Bentley Price – the former Lowcountry circuit court judge widely known as the “poster judge” for doling out questionable sentences (and accepting questionable pleas) on behalf of well-connected criminals.
Price’s handling of Pate’s case aroused suspicion from the outset after the 27-year-old Marine veteran was accused of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman – and subsequently granted a $40,000 bond.
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The incident came to authorities’ attention when the young woman sought treatment at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) alleging she was sexually assaulted by her former boyfriend.
The woman told police she was lured to her former boyfriend’s house – but thought it wise to bring along her roommate to ensure her safety. When the alleged victim didn’t exit Pate’s apartment for approximately an hour, her roommate grew concerned and knocked on Pate’s door – threatening to call the police. At this time, the alleged victim fled the apartment, vomited, and curled up in the fetal position in the back of the roommate’s car.
MUSC forensic nurses administered a rape kit and told investigators the victim’s bruises and lacerations backed up her account of being handcuffed to a bed and bound with rope.
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Pate appeared before Price after the filing of kidnapping and sexual assault charges related to the first incident involving the 19-year-old woman. Prosectors described the young woman fleeing Pate’s residence with “her underwear in one hand and shoes in another.”
Price didn’t immediately issue a ruling on Pate’s eligibility for bond.
As Pate sat in the Charleston County detention center awaiting a ruling, his ex-fiancée came forward detailing a second incident from March of last year. According to her, Pate allegedly strangled her after she discovered he had taped previous sexual encounters between the two of them without her consent. An audio recording of this attack was made by the victim, and a witness – Pate’s roommate – corroborated her account of being strangled, according to police.
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“I hope you die,” Pate allegedly said to the woman as the sounds of him strangling her were reportedly audible on the recording.
The woman accused Pate of punching her multiple times in the face during that attack, police said.
When contacted by investigators, Pate’s roommate not only confirmed his ex-fiancée’s account – he alleged that he, too, was attacked by Pate when he tried to intervene.
Pate’s attorney – S.C. District 94 representative Gil Gatch – argued his client’s innocence at a bond hearing following Pate’s indictment on attempted murder and voyeurism charges.
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“I don’t think any of (the allegations) are true” Gatch told the court, adding he believed both incidents were the result of “a misunderstanding.”
Gatch claimed the second victim took Pate to the hospital after the alleged assault – and continued to have contact with him following the incident. Gatch did admit, however, that his client filmed the victims engaging in sexual acts without their consent.
Price concluded the hearing without issuing an order, but eventually announced his intention to grant Pate a $40,000 consolidated bond on the condition that he be psychologically evaluated by mental health professionals.
The clinician who subsequently evaluated Pate determined he was a “high-level risk to the community” according to the testimony of assistant solicitor Mallory Haliena at a bond revocation hearing last month.
Haliena further told the court the S.C. ninth circuit solicitor’s office was likely to file charges against Pate in connection with two other victims – and stated a trove of USB drives were still being analyzed by investigators.
Ninth circuit solicitor Scarlett Wilson didn’t immediately respond to FITSNews’ inquiries regarding potential additional charges against Pate.
Gatch took umbrage at the prosecution’s use of the psychological evaluation, claiming the solicitor’s office “violated HIPAA” by publicly stating the report’s assessment of Pate being a danger to the community.
(Click to view)
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“Certainly it is not enough to say that my client is a danger to the community” Gatch argued.
Price agreed, determining Pate was fit to remain out on bond as he awaits trial.
Price’s decision was one of the his last official acts as a South Carolina circuit court judge. Last fall, he was found unqualified to continue his “service” to the state by the South Carolina Bar – and had his judicial candidacy subsequently terminated by the scandal scarred Judicial Merit Selection Commission (JMSC).
As for Gatch, he’s weighed in publicly on efforts to reform South Carolina’s notoriously corrupt judicial system via tweet.
“The system works.”
Sure … but for whom?
For years, this media outlet has led the charge for judicial reform in the Palmetto State. Count on us to continue doing so as politicians make incremental progress toward what we hope will be a fairer, more accountable system.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Via: Travis Bell)
Dylan Nolan is the director of special projects at FITSNews. He graduated from the Darla Moore school of business in 2021 with an accounting degree. Got a tip or story idea for Dylan? Email him here. You can also engage him socially @DNolan2000.
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6 comments
At what point in an attorneys life do they realize they want to spend their lives perverting justice for monetary gain?
Has he thought about becoming a pastor?
He claims to have been a pastor before becoming a lawyer.lol
Good riddance to bad rubbish, MR. (not Judge!) Price.
Gatch is exactly what is wrong with the lawyer/legislator system in SC. He is nothing more than a liberal lawyer so typical of the SC lowcountry. Clown show same as Caskey…..
I’ve only met Gil Gatch once in person when he approached me and a third party outside the statehouse after a House Constitutional sub-committee meeting this past Spring. As I watched him amble past the food tent in front of the Blatt building where legislators and others enjoyed the catered free lunch of the day (a location I’m told is a geographical workaround for donors who would be in violation of ethics statutes if free meals were provided indoors), Gatch puffed on what would, on closer inspection, be revealed as a rough-hewn corn cob pipe (I kid you not).
At Gatch’s arrival, I shook his outstretched hand on reflex, though I did not bother hiding my absolute distaste for the experience. Reflecting on the numerous, well-documented reports of Gatch’s figurative raping and pillaging of his own Family Court clientele, I fought the urge to wipe my palm down my fabric covered thigh.
Though it has been confirmed beyond the shadow of all doubt that Gatch knew precisely who I was at the time of this impromptu meeting, he pretended he did not. When he asked where I was from and I replied, “Horry County,” he lamented the corruption at the Horry County Courthouse, singling out the Court Records department in particular for its employees’ inability or refusal to follow proper protocols.
At my blank expression, Gatch turned his attention toward my companion. While he happily puffed away on his rustic pipe, overly conditioned beard glinting in the morning sun, Gatch launched into an “Aw, shucks, I’m a good guy, former youth pastor, part-time guitarist, champion of the down-trodden” routine. Taking in his perfectly waxed moustache, perfectly tailored blue windowpane suit, flashy dress socks and high-dollar soft leather shoes, I marveled at the tableau he presented. The only things missing were the rows of snake oil shelved behind him. When Gatch complained about his low paying gig as a House Representative and how “after figuring in parking fees” he actually lost money through his public service, I managed to tear my gaze from the spectacle to gage my companion’s reaction. To my relief, my companion appeared equally unimpressed, seemingly in possession of his own false face detector.
After Gatch further lamented that he had never been offered a bribe as a legislator (if this was a joke, it fell pancake flat), he doubled down on the “sound of crickets” reaction to his statement by adding that he wouldn’t have accepted a bribe anyway as fellow legislators had warned him that anyone offering a bribe outright was likely an undercover FBI agent. Again, if this was a joke, Gil Gatch picked the wrong audience. Before he finally turned to walk away, Gatch seemed to make a show of offering his business card to my companion (not me). When I was younger, this might have made me question Mr. Gatch’s attitude toward women. These days, I make no assumptions based on this gesture. These days, I’m old enough to understand someone can be a ill-mannered, or even an outright cad without any inherent basis in sexism whatsoever.
Relevant to current events, Gatch co-sponsored a bill last session with Camden area attorney Ben Connell who is currently running in the special election for Kershaw County Council Chairman). This bill would have required that all guardians ad litem must be licensed attorneys, thereby locking down the corrupt triumvirate of attorney/GAL/judge that routinely robs citizens of children, livelihoods, businesses, properties, college & retirement funds, and freedom from false commitment/incarceration. Luckily, the proposed legislation was not pursued. Hopefully, this bill, nor any bill predicated on the notion of further empowering lawyers, will ever be pursued again. As my extended family and Mr. Connell’s family go back a long way, we would like to believe Mr. Connell was duped into co-sponsorship of this bill with Mr. Gatch.
And I agree with the above comment regarding Micah Caskey. As an absolute novice to political theater, I watched Representative Caskey’s actions (among others’) this past session with utter disbelief and genuine horror. Continually, I found myself questioning how a system could have veered so far from decisions based on facts, common sense, honesty, and productivity. A heart-breaking, terrifying clown show, indeed.
With few exceptions (Perhaps Speaker Pro Tempore Tommy Pope?), I have come to think of lawyer/legislators in South Carolina as “GATGA” – “Go Along to Get Along” or “GATCH” – “Go Along To Cause Harm.”
Ginger Dunn