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A former Rock Hill teacher and coach indicted for hundreds of child pornography videos and pictures will remain jailed because he has “a long employment history in and around minors,” a federal judge has ruled.
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Douglas Melvin MacAlpine, 38, taught at Castle Heights Middle School and coached track at Rock Hill High School before York County deputies arrested him last year. He was released on bail before a federal grand jury indicted him earlier this month for distributing videos, and he was taken back into custody. He now faces both state and federal charges that carry decades in prison if he is convicted.
He has pleaded not guilty.
Why he’ll stay in jail until his trial
U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Rogers III ruled MacAlpine will stay in jail until his federal case comes to trial. Rogers cited that the crimes involve child victims, the strength of the evidence in the case, MacAlpine’s knowledge of electronics, and a potential federal punishment of more than 10 years in prison in denying bail.
“If convicted, it appears defendant faces an advisory guideline range well over 10 years, he has a long employment history in and around minors (middle school teacher/track coach), evidence shows hundreds of pics/videos involving child porn found on his accounts/device, evidence shows defendant to be electronically savvy, and defendant facing state charges for this conduct, as well,” Rogers wrote in his ruling.
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What the former Rock Hill teacher is accused of
MacAlpine is accused of using the KiK app to send child sexual abuse material, according to federal indictments.
Police said after MacAlpine was first arrested that none of the videos involved Rock Hill school district students. The district suspended him after his arrest last year. The state charges include an allegation that MacAlpine made a secret peeping video of another’s staffer’s legs under a table, records show.
No trial dates have been set for the York County charges or the federal case, according to court records and Veronica Wheeler, spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Columbia.
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