Former Pine Ridge Police Chief William Bruce Parker has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for orchestrating a multi-victim sextortion scheme.

According to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice, the 67-year-old pleaded guilty to cyberstalking resulting in serious bodily injury and communicating threats with the intent to extort victims for the production of pornography and coerced sex acts.

He admitted to sending threatening emails, texts and voice messages in 2021 and 2022 to multiple female victims, many of whom he is related to through blood or marriage, according to the release, and he sent these using spoofed accounts and phone numbers.

“His messages demanded his victims produce and send pornography of themselves or he would harm the victims and their families, including physical and sexual violence directed at his victims and their spouses, children and grandchildren, if they did not comply with his demands,” the release read, noting that he would include victims’ personal information as part of these threats and warned against going to the police or male family members. “Parker also threatened sexual violence against his victim’s toddler-aged children and grandchildren.

“After receiving the demands, victims reached out to Parker for advice and help given their relationship with him and his position in his law enforcement. Parker lied to the victims by telling them he was coordinating an investigation by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).”

The release noted that Parker never contacted SLED but “directed the victims to comply with the extortionists’ demands to assist SLED in the investigation.”

“Once Parker had the coerced pornography, he then threatened to leak these images to obtain more. His threats culminated with demands that the victims engage in sex acts with Parker, record the conduct, and send to the extortionists. As a result of these threats, Parker obtained coerced sex.”

Senior United States District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie sentenced Parker. His sentence is to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release, and he is required to pay $10,000 in restitution to the victims.

The release noted that at sentencing, Currie stated that the conduct in this case was “as depraved as anything I’ve seen in my 30 years as a federal district judge.”

The case was investigated by the FBI Columbia Field Office and Lexington County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elliott B. Daniels and Elle E. Klein are prosecuting the case.