Former SC police chief pleads guilty to extorting victims for sexual acts

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — A former South Carolina police chief has pled guilty to cyberstalking said the United States Department of Justice United States Attorney’s Office District of South Carolina.

Officials say William Bruce Parker of West Columbia pled guilty to cyberstalking resulting in serious bodily injury and communicating threats with the intent to extort victims for the production of pornography and coerced sex acts.

At the plea hearing, the 66-year-old former Chief of Police of the Town of Pine Ridge, S.C., admitted to sending threatening emails, texts, and voice messages in 2021 and 2022 from spoofed accounts and phone numbers to several female victims.

The Department of Justice says Parker who is a retired 35-year veteran of law enforcement was a state constable at the time of the offenses.

Investigators say his messages demanded his victims make and send pornographic videos and photos or he would harm the victims and their families.

His threats included physical and sexual violence directed at his victims and their spouses, children, and grandchildren, said state officials.

Also, his threats would name particular communities where the victims would hang in, and he promised harm if they went to the police.

After the victims received the demands because of his law enforcement background they reached out to Parker for advice, stated a press release.

The press release said Parker lied to the victims about working with law enforcement agencies to investigate the threats and then instructed the victims to send the pornography so the police would be able to track the emails and identify the extortionist.

Investigators say once he got the pornography, he then threatened to leak them to get more and threatened the victims to engage in acts with him to send to the extortionist accounts.

Parker admitted to engaging and attempting to engage in nonconsensual sexual acts with the victims, said officials.

Individuals with information related to this case are encouraged to contact FBI Columbia at (803) 551-4200 as investigators believe there might be more victims involved.

Parker faces up to 20 years in a federal prison. He will be sentenced on Jan. 31, 2024, at the Matthew J. Perry Federal Courthouse in Columbia.