Horry County man faces more than a dozen child sexual exploitation charges Christopher John Fletcher (Source: JRLDC) By WMBF News Staff | January 7, 2021 at 5:08 PM EST - Updated January 7 at 5:09 PM
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WMBF) - An Horry County man now faces more than a dozen charges related to child sexual exploitation, according to state officials.
The office of South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said 49-year-old Christopher John Fletcher, of Murrells Inlet, was arrested Thursday in connection to those charges. The attorney general’s office said the Horry County Sheriff’s Office made the arrest with assistance from Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigators.
An Horry County Government worker filed a slander lawsuit Wednesday against former deputy auditor Judy Clardy and auditor-elect Beth Calhoun, the two women who told a sheriffâs office investigator that they suspected the county employee had stolen items from Clardyâs office, according to court records.
Sandra Beckwith, a project coordinator in the treasurerâs office, asserts in the lawsuit that both Clardy and Calhoun damaged her reputation and caused her emotional pain. The sheriffâs office investigation turned up no evidence that Beckwith committed a crime.
âThe Defendants did secretly agree between themselves to attempt to have the Plaintiff charged with a crime,â Beckwithâs complaint states. âThe Plaintiff suffered special damages including reputational damages, emotional distress, upsetedness, embarrassment and shock including harm to her reputation and being held up to public scorn.â