School district: arrest of security officer followed harassment complaint

District employee accused of having sex with student on campus

A former security officer at Fort Dorchester High School was fired for sexual harassment before North Charleston police arrested him this week on charges that included having sex with a student on campus, officials said.

A female student reported having inappropriate conversations with Terence M. Thompson in April, said Pat Raynor, public information officer for Dorchester District 2 schools. Following standard policy, the district placed Thompson on leave while it looked into the matter.

Officials investigated about a week, decided the claim was valid and fired him, Raynor said. They also grew concerned about possible criminal violations.

"Because of other rumors at that time, our superintendant (Joseph Pye) immediately arranged a meeting with North Charleston police," she said.

Thompson, 41, is now accused inappropriate conduct with two female students, ages 15 and 16. One of the students is the same one who filed the sexual-harassment complaint, said Spencer Pryor, public information officer for North Charleston police.

An affidavit for contributing to the delinquency of a minor charges him with twice taking the 15-year-old out of class, and on another day, asking her for hugs and kisses. He also is charged with stalking in connection with those events.

Another warrant for contributing the delinquency of a minor contains allegations of sex with a 16-year-old girl while on campus. The warrant accuses him of having oral sex with her in a book room December 2005, then several on-campus sexual encounters between January 2006 and March of this year. The documents do not say whether the girl was 16 at the beginning or the end of this time frame.

Raynor said Thompson had been working at the campus near Ashley Phosphate and Dorchester roads since it was finished in the early 1990s. More than 2,500 students are enrolled at the school.

Thompson was a district employee, not a police officer, she said. He assisted two North Charleston school resource officers with parking enforcement and other safety duties.

Thompson, a Ladson resident, surrendered to police on Monday. Police said Municipal Judge Victor Revelise granted him a personal recognizance bond and forbid him from working around children or approaching within 1 mile of any of the victims, a police press release states. A State Law Enforcement Division background check showed no criminal offenses on Thompson's record.