by WILL FOLKS
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Nearly two decades ago, FITSNews began its in-depth investigative reporting into former South Carolina fourth circuit solicitor Jay Hodge – a scandal-scarred ex-prosecutor who has been at the epicenter of several civil and criminal investigations involving the alleged molestation of young boys.
Hodge was the subject of federal and state inquiries into these allegations many years ago – investigations which controversially ended without charges being filed. He also remains a named defendant in civil cases spanning back more than a decade.
In 2012, Hodge was named as a defendant in a major sexual abuse lawsuit– one alleging that he and another Boy Scout leader engaged “in various sexual acts” with multiple victims in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Hodge in particular was accused of engaging in “fondling, masturbation and oral sex” with multiple boys.
Hodge denied these allegations during an August 2012 interview with this reporter.
“Any allegation against me involving any inappropriate contact with any child is absolutely false,” he said at the time.
Four years later, though, another lawsuit was filed against Hodge accusing him of sexually assaulting a boy during an overnight white water rafting trip on the Nantahala River in the early 1990s. The trip occurred under the auspices of the Boy Scouts when the alleged victim was only eight years old.
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The complaint’s graphic claims followed a disturbing pattern of alleged abuse, one in which Hodge “induced and directed” his alleged victim to “engage in various sex acts with (him).”
“Hodge put his hands on the Plaintiff’s penis, pulled Plaintiff’s pants below his knees, and asked Plaintiff if it felt good,” the complaint (.pdf) alleged. “Subsequently, Hodge put the head of Plaintiff’s penis in his mouth.”
Hodge filed counterclaims against virtually all of the plaintiffs who sued him. In these filings, he denied their allegations – and asserted claims against them including conspiracy and defamation. The counterclaims alleged the plaintiffs coordinated false accusations to obtain money from him and to damage his reputation.
Hodge wasn’t the only one who faced scrutiny tied to these allegations. In a related lawsuit filed in 2016, former Chesterfield County undersheriff Rob Lee was accused of destroying evidence that could have implicated Hodge in connection with these child sex inquiries. Specifically, Lee was accused of destroying “photographs of fully nude juvenile males” obtained in connection with the Hodge scandal.
According to the lawsuit against Lee, he allegedly told a former Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) deputy he destroyed the images and declined to report Hodge to the authorities because “when the man holds the mortgage to your house and your wife is pregnant, you have no choice.”
An exhibit accompanying the suit (.pdf) confirmed Lee’s property was indeed secured by a mortgage – with Hodge holding the note. Also, Lee’s wife – a senior prosecutor in the fourth circuit solicitor’s office – allegedly found incriminating photographic evidence implicating Hodge during her tenure working for him from 1997-2000.
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Hodge is a 77-year-old attorney from Cheraw, S.C. who served as the top prosecutor in the fourth circuit from January 1997 until May of 2009 – when he abruptly resigned amid a federal investigation into alleged misappropriation of taxpayer and nonprofit funds. He was subsequently installed as an assistant solicitor in his old office, but was later removed from that role amid scrutiny tied to the federal investigation.
Hodge is currently listed as a “juvenile public defender” for Chesterfield and Darlington counties – a position he holds under the auspices of the S.C. Commission on Indigent Defense (SCCID).
Calls to both the fourth circuit and SCCID seeking an explanation for Hodge’s employment in this role – which involves interacting with juvenile defendants at the most vulnerable moments in their young lives – were not immediately returned.
Should we receive responses, we will update our coverage accordingly.
For those of you unfamiliar with the fourth circuit, it encompasses Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon and Marlboro counties – four rural, impoverished counties in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina which constitute the northern axis of the Palmetto State’s notorious “Corridor of Shame.”
Hodge’s case is receiving renewed scrutiny thanks to recent reporting from Jody Barr of Queen City News. According to Barr, Hodge is the focus of a current S.C. Law Enforcement Division (SLED) probe into revelations unearthed during a review of prosecutorial records related to the case.
FITSNews has submitted numerous Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests tied to our ongoing investigation into Hodge and his associates. Be on the lookout for additional reports in the near future…
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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