On Monday, Governor Henry McMaster issued an order suspending Bethune Town Councilman John Heflin from the duties of his office. The order does not remove Heflin from office, but keeps him from attending meetings or conducting any business as a councilman until such time as he is acquitted or convicted, or until a successor is elected. State law permits the governor to suspend elected officials when they have been indicted of crimes meeting certain criteria. The order says that McMaster made the decision after a grand jury indicted Heflin last week of a single 2024 charge of criminal solicitation of a minor. Heflin was also arrested on July 31st on four sex-related charges involving a former student who attended the academy in 2014. He has not been indicted by a grand jury on those charges, but is held at the Kershaw County Detention Center with no bond.
Friday, August 29, 2025
