FORMER SOUTH CAROLINA WORSHIP PASTOR INDICTED ON NINE FEDERAL CHILD SEX ABUSE CHARGES
Prosecutors allege Richard Channing “Chan” Shealy shared child sexual abuse material with an undercover Homeland Security agent before a search of his home uncovered more files.
A federal grand jury has indicted Richard Channing “Chan” Shealy, 54, a former Lexington, South Carolina, interim worship pastor, on nine counts of producing, distributing, and possessing child sexual abuse material.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges Shealy shared files with an undercover Homeland Security Investigations agent through a peer-to-peer network in February. Agents later searched his home and found additional material on his computer.
Prosecutors say some of those files depicted a child whom Shealy allegedly abused in 2004 and 2006. The indictment includes four production counts, each carrying a maximum 30-year sentence, plus distribution and possession charges carrying up to 20 years. Each count also carries a potential $250,000 fine.
Baptist Press reported that Shealy served as an interim worship pastor at two Baptist churches in the Lexington and West Columbia area: Lexington Baptist Church and River District Church. The federal release does not tie the indictment to either congregation.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office, and the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department. Local reporting independently confirmed the nine-count indictment and the alleged undercover transfer.
Shealy’s indictment brings federal child-sex-abuse charges to a former worship pastor whose public role placed him in South Carolina’s church community. The charges remain accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.