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A former Rock Hill school district teacher and coach arrested last year on South Carolina state charges for uploading child sexual abuse videos, is back in jail on federal charges, according to court records and prosecutors.
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Douglas Melvin MacAlpine, 38, of York, was kept in custody after his arrest and first appearance Thursday, Aug. 6 in federal court, records show.
MacAlpine, who had been free on bail since York County deputies arrested him in March 2025, pleaded not guilty in federal court, records show.
A federal grand jury indicted him last week.
The five federal charges allege four counts of distribution of child pornography using the Kik social media app and one count of possession of child sexual abuse material, according to U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of South Carolina indictments obtained by The Herald.
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MacAlpine had been a teacher at Castle Heights Middle School and a track coach at Rock Hill High School before his arrest in March 2025, deputies and school district officials said at the time. Rock Hill schools suspended him.
Police said when MacAlpine was arrested in March 2025 the charges of sexual exploitation of a minor did not involve Rock Hill district students. The 2025 state charges, which include one allegation that MacAlpine made a secret peeping video of another’s staffer’s legs under a table, remain pending in York County criminal court, records show.
MacAlpine is scheduled for another federal court hearing on Aug. 20.
If convicted, MacAlpine faces a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, special assessments of up to $40,000, and lifetime supervision, federal prosecutors say.
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