Ex-school board chief accused of child sex abuse in SC; victim was 5 when abuse began, deputies say

JOHNSONVILLE, S.C. — The former chairman of a South Carolina school board is accused of sexually assaulting a young child, authorities said.

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According to WBTW, investigators on Thursday charged 51-year-old Christopher Garrett Marsh, the former chairman of the Florence School District Five school board, with two counts each of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor under age 11, criminal sexual conduct with a minor from 11 to 14 years old, and third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

In a news release Thursday, the Florence County Sheriff’s Office said Marsh, of Johnsonville, repeatedly sexually assaulted the child from 2015, when the victim was 5, through February of this year.

Deputies also charged 40-year-old Mary Costa King Marsh, a teacher in the district, with two counts of unlawful neglect of a child, according to the release. Authorities believe she knew about the abuse and “continued to allow the child to be exposed to a substantial risk of physical harm,” the release said.

Christopher Marsh, who resigned from his school board post Wednesday, is being held at the Florence County Detention Center, WBTW reported. Mary Marsh, who is on leave, was jailed and later released, authorities said.

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