Former Dillon mayor accused of failing to abide by sex offender conditions
DILLON, S.C. (WBTW) — A former Dillon mayor was arrested after allegedly failing to abide by standard sex offender conditions, according to a warrant from the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.
John Corey Jackson “failed to refrain from the possession or use of any sexually stimulating or sexually explicit material” after a forensic analysis of his cellphone on Tuesday found multiple photos of “male private parts,” the warrant shows. He was arrested on Wednesday.
Jackson is also accused of using his phone to schedule meetups with male escorts “to solicit sexual favors,” according the warrant. He allegedly exchanged pornographic images with them using text messages or apps like Tinder.
Jackson was suspended in 2019, shortly after being sworn in. He pleaded guilty last August in sexual exploitation and forgery cases. He was given a three-year suspended prison sentence and placed on probation for five years after pleading guilty to three counts of communicating obscene messages for incidents involving multiple teenage boys between June 2017 and April 2019. He had been charged with nearly a dozen counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.
Jackson was also given three years of suspended probation after pleading guilty to two counts of forgery. He was arrested in April 2023 by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and accused of submitting multiple pre-approval applications to the Dillon Historic Preservation Committee for $50,000 grants being offered to help local businesses with property repairs that contained forged contractor quotes totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars for properties he owned on North Railroad Avenue in Dillon.
Jackson was suspended by Gov. Henry McMaster shortly after being sworn in as mayor in 2019 after being indicted on 11 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. He had been scheduled to go on trial last December but the case was delayed because one of his attorneys is a state senator who was unavailable until after the General Assembly adjourned.
Jackson was just 23 when he was elected to a four-year term in 2019. He took office as Dillon’s youngest mayor. That term ended in December. Tally McCall was sworn in as mayor in April 2023 after defeating three other candidates by a wide margin.
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Caleb is a digital producer at News13. Caleb joined the team in January 2023 after graduating from Liberty University. He is from Northern Virginia. Follow Caleb on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here.
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