Former Georgetown County Sheriff's Investigator Arrested | Myrtle Beach

CONWAY — State authorities arrested a former Georgetown County Sheriff's Office investigator June 4 on charges of first-degree assault and battery.

Everest “Hank” Carrison II, 40, was booked into the J. Reuben Long Detention Center and given a $5,000 bond.

The assault occurred Feb. 3 after Carrison and a female sheriff's office employee were drinking at a hotel following a polar dive, according to an arrest warrant. He offered to drive the co-worker because she was drunk.

When they reached their destination in Horry County, he took her inside and stayed there for more than an hour, according to the warrant. Carrison injured the victim “with lewd and lascivious intent” by rubbing her without her consent, the warrant states. SLED officers took the victim’s statement and collected surveillance video.

SLED has been working on the case since Feb. 5, when Sheriff Carter Weaver asked the agency to investigate allegations of criminal sexual conduct involving off-duty personnel.

Sheriff's Office spokesman Jason Lesley declined to answer any questions about the case, including whether Carrison resigned or was fired. Carrison was placed on paid administrative leave earlier this year.

At Carrison's bond hearing, the victim asked for a no-contact order and said she believed that because of his work as a police officer, he posed a danger to the public.

Carrison had worked for the sheriff's office for nearly 10 years, according to SC Criminal Justice Academy records.

Before joining the Sheriff's Office, Carrison worked for the Pawleys Island Police Department for six months. Before that, he worked for the Myrtle Beach Police Department from May 2011 to November 2013. Carrison resigned from the MBPD, but records show his departure was not related to any misconduct.

The case is being prosecuted by the SC Attorney General's Office. Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson said he asked the attorney general's office to handle the prosecution because he had worked closely with Carrison, who was often assigned high-profile cases, and that he wished to avoid any appearance of impropriety.