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At approximately 4:00 p.m. EDT on March 12, 2024, Charles F. Wohlleb IV pulled his marked patrol car into the driveway of his estranged wife’s home. Moments later, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) deputy shelved his oath for the purpose of assaulting his child.
According to sources familiar with the incident, Wohlleb’s violent outburst happened after his estranged wife asked him to pick up their son, “Charlie,” from Belton Preparatory Academy. The 11-year-old, who had just received a hamster for his birthday, was eager to return home.
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“FUCKING A…”
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“When Charlie got home, he found out a cat killed his hamster,” recounted a teary-eyed source. “So he walked back outside (to Wohlleb) crying. Then, he pulled out his cell phone to call his mother, who was currently working in the emergency room at St. Francis.”
After demanding that Charlie hang up the phone with his mother, Wohlleb assailed his son in full view of the neighborhood. The 72-pound boy was pummeled to the ground — curling into a fetal position as his 200-pound father struck him multiple times with open hands.
“I’m sick of your little fucking teenage attitude,” shouted Wohlleb, a school resource officer (SRO), after landing three blows to Charlie’s torso. “Do you understand me?”
Under the fisheye lens of an $80 Blink doorbell camera, Wohlleb grabbed Charlie by his wrists and yanked him into the air. The 11-year-old, landing upright, clutched his shoulder and remained silent as Wohlleb paced about the property berating him.
“Keep with the attitude again,” exclaimed the deputy while pointing. “Do you understand me? Keep with it again. Goddamn it… you are a child! Do you understand me? You’re not a damn adult! You’re not a teenager! What I say, what your mother says, goes… Fucking A!”
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? #BadgeGoneBad: Former Anderson County Sheriff’s Office (#ACSO) deputy Charles Wohlleb has evaded criminal charges after allegedly “assaulting” his 11-year-old son during a recorded incident earlier this year.
— Andrew Fancher (@RealAndyFancher) December 13, 2024
The case, referred to agents the S.C. Law Enforcement Division… pic.twitter.com/GGes5HcotG
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In the immediate aftermath of his attack-turned-tirade, sources maintain that Wohlleb spoke with his estranged wife via cell phone. He purportedly told the licensed practical nurse (LPN) to “call a fucking lawyer” before hanging up and absconding from the property.
According to responding officers of the Anderson Police Department (APD), Charlie’s mother took an additional four hours to return home and review her graphic doorbell footage. Upon doing so, she noted multiple bruises across Charlie’s body and called 911.
“(Charlie’s mother) was very upset and panicked,” submitted a responding officer. “(She) was appalled at what she had observed… (She) stated that she and her husband were going through a separation and had been apart for approximately three months (sic).”
After reviewing the contents of her motion-activated camera, APD advised ACSO Capt. Tyrone Williams of Wohlleb’s alleged misconduct. Officers further requested agents of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) to commandeer their investigation.
“Two SLED agents arrived and took the lead,” continued a responding officer. “Due to local law enforcement’s involvement in the incident, ACSO and APD wished to have the incident investigated by a neutral agency… All items of evidence… will be forwarded to SLED (sic).”
More on the status of that probe in a moment…
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“A VERY AGGRESSIVE PATTERN…”
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According to an ACSO spokesperson, Wohlleb was placed on unpaid leave within hours of state intervention. One week later, on March 19, 2024, the longtime officer was terminated for reasons involving misconduct and effectively stripped of his law enforcement certification.
The latter remains of significant importance, considering South Carolina officers are incessantly accused of crime after crime after crime after crime and incomprehensibly allowed to resign with honors — if not quietly separated for reasons not involving misconduct.
Despite his career-ending blow, a hefty personnel file from the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy (SCCJA) implies that Wohlleb was no stranger to preferential treatment within the Palmetto State’s incestuous “police family.”
“He’s an officer with a lengthy history,” noted a source familiar with his 15-year career. “He’s gotten in trouble and resigned from almost every department he’s ever been a part of… He’s had (internal investigations) lodged against him hard… A very aggressive pattern.”
According to separation files, Wohlleb resigned from the Charleston Police Department (CPD), the North Charleston Police Department (NCPD), the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) and ACSO… before returning to the same department for his last hurrah six months later.
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RELATED | ‘HABITUALLY DRUNK’ OFFICER TERMINATED DURING STATE INVESTIGATION
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While adding to the state’s deluge of recycled officers, newly uncovered incident reports reveal troubling details about Wohlleb’s home life. Notwithstanding his latest escapade, the 2007 Citadel graduate was listed in at least two incident reports known to FITSNews.
At approximately 1:30 a.m. on October 15, 2020, APD responded to a 911 hang-up placed by Wohlleb at his marital home. When officers arrived on scene, the deputy maintained that he and his estranged wife were involved in a dispute — but that “nothing got physical.”
“(His spouse) had two bruises, one on each arm,” noted a responding officer. “(She) stated that (Wohlleb) was a good person and she did not want him to get into trouble… (Wohlleb) advised that he did not throw (his spouse’s) phone into the yard, that it was in the house.”
Emphasis on Wohlleb’s testimony, as APD ordered him to retrieve the aforementioned cell phone… from the backyard. After being exposed as a “liar,” the responding officer accused Wohlleb of “deceit” and notified her superiors of the questionable conduct.
Regressing further, at around 11:00 p.m. on November 8, 2020, Wohlleb’s estranged wife entered APD headquarters and accused the deputy of harassment. Her complaint came after someone purportedly hacked her Facebook account.
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“IT’S NOT CRIMINAL…”
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“Several posts were made on her account, detailing an alleged affair,” noted yet another responding officer. “She also discovered that several private pictures, sent to (Wohlleb) during their marriage, were distributed in a group chat on Facebook Messenger (sic).”
According to his estranged wife, the New Jerseyan used her name and likeness to “exchange” intimate photos online. She furthermore accused him of “driving (his Nissan Frontier) by” and “taking photos and videos” of her friend’s house in Anderson, S.C.
Unfortunately for the public, the aforementioned incidents were buried in a police database until SLED was requested to investigate Wohlleb in 2024. It took an additional eight months for state investigators to deliver their case to S.C. Tenth Circut Solicitor David R. Wagner.
What happened next took everyone by surprise…
On November 13, 2024, SLED’s investigation was effectively closed by Wagner. According to the exiting solicitor, Wohlleb’s handling of Charlie “was not criminal” and best left to the S.C. Department of Social Services (SCDSS) and/or Anderson County Family Court.
“The guy was disciplining his son,” Wagner said over the phone. “I’ve got no reason to think that (Wohlleb) was not a decent dad. I don’t know him personally, and it wouldn’t make a difference if I did… I’m concerned with whether or not there was a violation of the law.”
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Nearly three weeks after deploying his declination letter to SLED, Wagner told FITSNews it was neither his job nor the position of law enforcement to “second guess” how someone parents their child — so long as guardians don’t “overstep.”
“We’re talking about whether it’s okay to spank a kid or not,” added the solicitor. “Now, (Wohlleb) jacked (Charlie) up a little violently. I thought it was. But I don’t think it rose to the level of misconduct towards a child. It’s just how he chose to parent… It’s not criminal.”
No longer in the crosshairs of a pending investigation, Wohlleb has three years to request a contested case hearing regarding his revoked law enforcement certification.
“His kid deserves justice,” concluded a source. “Charlie’s suffered enough. He’s been through counseling and still has a lot of anxiety… I’m sick and tired of bad cops getting away with bad things. (Wohlleb) deserves to be exposed, and he’ll hate it because he’s a narcissist.”
This story may be updated.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Dynal Nolan/FITSNews)
Andrew Fancher is a Lone Star Emmy award-winning journalist from Dallas, Texas. Cut from a bloodline of outlaws and lawmen alike, he was the first of his family to graduate college which was accomplished with honors. Got a story idea or news tip for Andy? Email him directly and connect with him socially across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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5 comments
Sounds like a real piece of work, who has a gift for always landing on his feet, no matter what he does.
Little bastard probably deserved it, have you ever been around an 11 year old?
That was not discipline! This was an attack in a fit of rage. If that father had done that to an adult he had been angry with it would have been considered assault. I am not against spanking or parents disciplining children at all. But rage & physical attacks on someone smaller than you is not disciplining. Sharing genes with a child does not make it legal to attack them. That is an abusive assault .
Good grief, thank goodness Wagner is leaving. His office dismisses cases like he’s giving away candy. Let’s hope Micah decides to revisit this case and recommend charges. Anderson will definitely be a much safer place under the new solicitor.
If Charles Frances Wohlleb, IV had struck the family dog repeatedly and jerked the animal by its arms until airborne, possibly dislocating the animal’s shoulder, and the event had been witnessed in full view of neighbors, and caught on video (with full audio), former Officer Wohlleb would have been arrested immediately and likely prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Why do SC laws seem to offer more protection to family pets than minor children?
As an adult, I was frightened watching the video. Wohlleb was completely unhinged seemingly over nothing. I can only imagine what life must be like for a young child forced to spend time alone with the parent he fears.
Because SC 10th Circuit Solicitor David Wagner declined to prosecute, former Officer Wohlleb’s wife, Kelly Wohlleb, is now locked in SC Family Court with an individual sporting a long history of alleged abuse.
SC DSS should refer evidence of the physical assault of a minor to the solicitor’s office or the police department.
Not vice-versa. This is upside down.
According to the SC public family court portal, the judges involved in the Wohlleb case are Judge Timothy Pogue and Judge Rochelle Conits, two individuals with demonstrated track records of bias and complete disregard for the rule of law.
At Judge Pogue’s December 2, 2024 JMSC screening, he was asked to comment on ballot box complaints reporting his bad temperament. Judge Pogue stated on the record that his temperament “must be good” if he could put up with John Gallman during a week long trial. The comment was so unexpected (and so wildly inappropriate), it drew an audible gasp from several audience members (myself included).
Notably, Judge Pogue made this statement directly to Chairman of the JMSC, SC Senator Luke Rankin, who ran against Mr. Gallman in the 2020 Republican primary, and to my understanding, is (or was) a party in an ongoing defamation suit.
Though Senator Rankin evinced no visible reaction to Pogue’s derogatory statement regarding Gallman, Rankin immediately moved to go off the record.
While off record, instead of reprimanding Active Retired Horry County Family Court Judge Pogue for disparaging a private citizen in public record (in clear violation of SC Judicial Canons), RANKIN PRAISED Judge Pogue’s egregious disparagement of Rankin’s former political rival by stating (with a wide smile) to Pogue, “That name you just said… all I’ll say is God bless you. God bless you.”
I’m going to write that line again… Senator Luke Rankin, head of the SC Senate Judiciary Committee, Chair of the SC Judicial Merit Selection Commission, SC Senator from District #33 (Horry County), and a party in an active lawsuit with John Gallman, PRAISED Judge Pogue’s egregious public disparagement of Mr. Gallman, Rankin’s former political rival.
After wishing “blessings” on Judge Pogue, Rankin immediately moved to go back on record.
On Judge Pogue, I personally witnessed him in action during an Horry County hearing in 2023 where he threatened everyone present in the courtroom against recording the proceedings, including the pro se litigant who attempted to record the hearing to aid in preparing any immediate filings that might be necessary before a transcript might be available.
At the start of the hearing, Judge Pogue made everyone in attendance stand up and raise their right hands and swear under penalty of perjury they were not recording. Judge Pogue informed the room at large that if any recordings of the hearing surfaced, the responsible party would be discovered and punished to the court’s fullest capability.
Any judge so committed to hiding corrupt practices in SC courts should NOT preside over a case in which an officer with a long list of infractions has allegedly committed a crime.
Lastly, regarding Mr. Gallman… I have investigated the allegations made during Senator Rankin’s campaign against Mr. Gallman in the 2020 Republican primary election for SC Senate District #33.
These allegations are not mere misrepresentations of fact. They are pure fiction stemming from hearsay codified into a court order by Judge Jan Bromell Holmes. The allegations against Mr. Gallman follow the same precise pattern used by corrupt attorneys and judges who collude to disparage parties and drive conflict which leads to additional legal fees in litigation. These false affidavits have become so common, it appears they are recycled over and over and different names are slotted in as needed. At times, I have suspected these artificial stories are products of AI.
At bottom, the Wohlleb case demonstrates the pattern of a corrupt family court being weaponized by an abusive partner, a corrupt solicitor failing to prosecute crime, the lack of prosecution further enabling abuse, a corrupt SC agency (DSS) being used to cover up criminal misconduct, a corrupt judicial merit selection commission nominating judicial candidates based on their willingness to rule in favor of their cohorts and to allow vexatious prolonged litigations to move forward, and an entire corrupt system existing to create unnecessary legal fees.
Because former officer Wohlleb owes back child support, he is incentivized to participate in a prolonged predatory litigation until a more favorable result for himself can be achieved. Meanwhile, the current system ensures Kelly Wohlleb and her son will be drained of resources and left with little to no protection.