By Tonya Root – troot@thesunnews.com
Rep. Thad Viers was being held Friday afternoon at the Myrtle Beach Jail awaiting a bond hearing after he was charged with first-degree harassment, according to jail records.
The charge against Larkin Taylor Thaddaeu “Thad” Viers, 33, stemmed from a report filed by a 28-year-old woman who had dated Viers, police said.
It is the second arrest for Viers, who pleaded “no contest” in 2006 and was fined $500 for harassing his ex-wife’s boyfriend.
In the most recent incident, the woman told police she broke off her relationship with Viers in June or July, but he continued to call, text, email and show up at her home and work repeatedly, according to the police report. The woman said she asked Viers to stop harassing her multiple times, but he did not stop.
“The victim has contacted MBPD previously about harassment, but was reluctant to press the issue because she didn’t want to injure the offender’s reputation and career if the information was made public,” according to the report.
The officer wrote in the report that on Dec. 16, he spoke with Viers near the woman’s home and advised him to not contact the woman, according to the report. “The offender stated he understood and would comply.”
On Dec. 22, the victim told police that Viers emailed her and also borrowed a mutual friend’s phone to text her on New Year’s Eve, according to the report filed Thursday. The woman also had several documents showing the events of harassment, which included a written notice from the woman to Viers to stop contacting her.
The victim’s attorney and her father also sent a no contact notices to Viers, but he ignored them, according to the report.
It was unclear if Viers had obtained an attorney to represent him in the matter.
Viers, who is a five-term Republican member of the S.C. House of Representatives, was the first official candidate for South Carolina’s new 7th Congressional Seat with his announcement in August.
Viers, an attorney who has represented the area between Myrtle Beach and Conway in the State House since 2002 and serves as majority whip and is not seeking re-election in to S.C. House Seat 68.
Viers grew up at the Ammons mobile home park and graduated from Socastee High School in 1995 and then matriculated to The Citadel. While serving in the State House, he also attended law school at the University of South Carolina and graduated in 2007.
In 2010, after his brother received a ticket for violating the city of Myrtle Beach’s helmet law, Viers, along with attorney J. Todd Kincannon and Business Owners Organized to Support Tourism, filed a lawsuit against the city, calling the local helmet law for motorcyclists invalid.
The helmet law was eventually overturned by the State Supreme Court.
In 2006 Viers pleaded “no contest” and was fined $500 on charges he left a series of threatening and graphic phone messages on the answering machine of Columbia resident James ”Jon” Zeigler.
Zeigler was dating Viers’ ex-wife.
Contact TONYA ROOT at 444-1723.
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