Religious figure faces federal charges for child sex crimes in SC, official says

A South Carolina man — who is both a religious figure and husband of a former high-ranking school board member in Lexington — who has previously been arrested for sex crimes involving children is now facing federal charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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On Wednesday, a federal grand jury in Columbia returned a nine-count indictment charging 54-year-old Lexington resident Richard Channing “Chan” Shealy with producing, distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material, aka child pornography, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

Federal charges

In February, Shealy shared files of child porn with an undercover Homeland Security Investigations agent using a peer-to-peer file sharing network, according to the release. Armed with a search warrant, law enforcement officers searched Shealy’s home and uncovered more of the illegal files on Shealy’s computer, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Among the files discovered were pictures of a child that Shealy abused in 2004 and 2006, according to the release.

If convicted on the federal charges, Shealy faces a maximum punishment of 30 years in federal prison on four counts of producing child sexual abuse material and up to 20 years on the distribution and possession charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Shealy also faces fines of up to $250,000 on each count, according to the release. There is no parole in the federal system.

The federal case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office and the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Matthews is prosecuting the case.

These are the latest charges facing Shealy.

South Carolina charges

On March 26, the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office announced Shealy was charged with three counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and 10 counts third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.

In May, Shealy was issued more charges in which he’s accused of producing images of himself sexually abusing a minor along with more counts of producing child sex abuse material, the S.C. Attorney General’s Office said.

Shealy now faces state charges of two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, four counts of committing a lewd act upon a child, 10 counts of first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, and four counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.

Following the May arrest, Shealy was denied bond on the new charges by a Lexington judge. He’s currently locked up in the Lexington County Detention Center, jail records show.

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The S.C. Attorney General’s Office, which will lead the prosecution of Shealy on the state charges, said it began investigating him after seeing files of child sexual abuse material shared online. The case was referred to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, which made the arrest.

The most state serious charges against Shealy carry a penalty of 10 to 30 years in a South Carolina prison, and additional charges carry a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison per count.

Chan Shealy

Shealy previously promoted himself as a Christian singer and speaker on a personal webpage that has since been taken offline.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office called Shealy a former Lexington pastor. Information about any churches he has affiliations with was not available. There’s a video on YouTube of Shealy performing at Mt. Horeb Church in Lexington, as well as other recordings of Shealy singing under the banner of “Prayer Warrior.” Those videos include reference to Bible passages — Ephesians 6:11-14 — that reference spiritual warfare and encourage believers to “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

There’s another video on YouTube performed by Shealy that’s named “Look At You Now.”

Shealy is married to Elizabeth “Beth” Shealy, who at the time of his arrest was the vice chair of the Lexington 1 school board. She resigned her seat after the first arrest in March.

Beth Shealy was elected to the Lexington 1 school board in 2022, according to the school district’s website. Lexington 1 school district covers the town of Lexington as well as Gilbert, Pelion, Red Bank and White Knoll.