Personal Injury Attorney in Aiken, SC

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - An Aiken County substitute teacher has been arrested after he was accused of sexual battery, according to law enforcement officials.

According to jail reports, Xavier Hamilton, 29, was arrested on Thursday.

He is charged with two counts of sexual battery with a student, according to jail records.

According to the arrest warrants, he met the 16-year-old victim while she was a student at a “public secondary school” in the district.

Between May and June 2025 and July and August 2025, Hamilton allegedly engaged in sexual acts with the victim on multiple occasions at his home, the warrants state.

The Aiken County Public Schools says Hamilton was employed by Kelly Services and served as a substitute teacher in the district from May 16 through Aug. 6.

He was terminated on Aug. 18 by Kelly Services after the school district determined he was no longer eligible to substitute, according to school officials.

School officials say law enforcement later learned of allegations against Hamilton for inappropriate conduct involving a student.

The incident report states the sexual battery investigation began in August.

During the investigation, officers spoke to the victim multiple times in regards to the incident.

The reports state officers obtained arrest warrants for sexual assault on a student for Hamilton on Oct. 31.

On Thursday, Hamilton was arrested and booked into the Aiken County Detention Center.

The school district says it and Kelly Services have cooperated fully with law enforcement throughout the investigation.

“We remain steadfast in our commitment to rigorous background screening practices and immediate, appropriate action when concerns arise to help ensure safe, supportive learning environments for all students,” said the school district in a statement.

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - We’re learning new details after 11 horses were seized following an investigation into alleged animal ill-treatment, according to Aiken County Code Enforcement.

On Tuesday, Aiken County Code Enforcement, assisted by the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office, executed a search warrant after weeks of welfare checks and reports of neglected animals.

Officials say Cynthia Vest, 45, of R&B Way, was arrested and charged with 11 counts of ill-treatment of animals. She was booked into the Aiken County Detention Center on Wednesday.

The investigation began Oct. 14, when officers responded to a complaint reporting abandoned chickens, ducks, dogs and possibly horses.

The caller described trash and packages scattered around the property, a foul odor, and pens with either dirty water or none at all, according to the incident report.

According to the report, Vest and another resident were believed to live at the property.

The caller said Vest had not been seen in two weeks. Officials say jail records show Vest was released from custody in California on Oct. 7.

Officers made several follow-up visits in October. On Oct. 17, deputies made contact with Vest, who was described as “confrontational.”

According to the report, two horses were found on the property with visible ribs and hip bones. One had severe facial swelling and nasal discharge, while the other had a rash around its muzzle.

Vest told officers she had recently retrieved the horses from a boarding facility and claimed they were healthy upon their arrival.

She stated that some of her horses had been under the care of an equine facility in Ridge Spring. Upon returning from California and finding two horses in poor condition, she reportedly retrieved them and took them to that facility.

Vest stated they declined to perform an examination and that she was attempting to locate another veterinarian to assess the animals.

Officers returned several times later in October after they said Vest stopped responding. When officers arrived again on Nov. 4, they said they found the horses’ conditions had worsened, noting open wounds and deteriorating body conditions.

A search warrant was executed the next day.

A veterinarian evaluated all 11 horses, describing them as “severely underweight” — with body condition scores between 1 and 3 out of 9.

At a bond hearing on Thursday, officers requested a GPS monitor, citing Vest’s prior travel history and statements about wanting to sell her home and leave the area.

After the hearing, Vest waived her rights and voluntarily surrendered the horses, providing their names and breeds to authorities, the report states.

Each charge has a bond of $2,000, according to jail bookings.

The report says all 11 were placed in the temporary custody of Aiken Equine Rescue.

In a statement on social media, the rescue says they “could not say no.”

“Right now, these horses need immediate medical care, nutrition and safe shelter. These horses are safe now, but they desperately need your help.”

AIKEN — SC School Report Card results, which provide an in-depth overview of school performance across the state, were released Nov. 3 for the 2024-25 school year. The Aiken County Public School District is currently celebrating some improved ratings across its schools.

Seven ACPSD schools have earned an Excellent proficiency rating this year, an improvement from last year’s report when only two of its schools received the high rank. No schools in the district received an Unsatisfactory rating.

“We have seven Excellent schools this year and no Unsatisfactory schools in Aiken County. Of particular note, 45% of our schools increased an entire proficiency category… we are so proud of our growth and looking forward to even greater things ahead,” said Superintendent Dr. Corey Murphy.

Last year, Ridge Spring-Monetta Elementary was the sole school in the district to receive an Unsatisfactory ranking. This year, the school has jumped up by two ratings and is now rated Average.

Elementary schools with an Excellent rating this year include Aiken Elementary, Belvedere Elementary, East Aiken School of the Arts, Hammond Hill Elementary and Millbrook Elementary.

North Augusta Middle School earned its first Excellent rating in more than a decade. At the high school level, Aiken Scholars Academy earned its fourth consecutive Excellent rating.

The district’s highest ranked school overall this year is Aiken Scholars Academy which received a 97-point Excellent rating. The intimately-sized high school was recently ranked a top school in both the state and the nation.

Although schools have an overall rating, they also receive sub-ratings in different areas such as academic achievement, student safety, college and career readiness, and multilingual learners’ progress.

The district’s lowest rated school this year is Ridge Spring-Monetta Middle/High School with a 33-point Below Average rating. Looking deeper, the middle/high school is rated Unsatisfactory in the Preparing for Success category, which includes the SC READY Science test results for elementary and middle school students and the End-of-Course Biology and U.S. History test results for high school students.

However, the school is ranked Excellent in the School Climate category.

Results for each school in the district can be checked on the SC Report Cards website with a breakdown of each rating by category.

AIKEN — The S.C. Supreme Court on Nov. 5 issued an opinion remanding to district court a previously dismissed lawsuit challenging Aiken County’s road maintenance fee of $25 per vehicle.

“The case is still active,” said Brad Farrar, attorney for Aiken County.

The suit was filed in November 2021 by Jane Page Thompson and Mark Gregory Thompson, who accused the City of Aiken and Aiken County of ignoring high-court precedent and collecting money that was not rightfully theirs.

“It’s a fairly lengthy opinion,” Farrar said. “The part that remains is the parties can go to court and bring what's called a declaratory judgment action to declare the rights of the parties.”

“They have the ability to go and ask the court to declare that the road maintenance fee is really a tax. That’s the allegation,” Farrar said. “That's the part of the case that remains.”

He said the Supreme Court has made no determination that Aiken County’s fee was impermissibly imposed, that it's a tax, or that the county must refund any fees it has collected.

The Thompsons filed the suit as individuals and then as a class action shortly after the S.C. Supreme Court issued its decision in Burns v. Greenville County, which concluded similar charges in the Upstate violated statewide rules and were invalid.

The Thompsons argued in their suit that the road maintenance fees collected by the county and the city were illegal taxes and that the city and county should have to return the fees they collected and pay penalties for collecting illegal fees. Their claim was against Aiken County Administrator Clay Killian, Aiken County Treasurer Jason Goings, Aiken County, the City of Aiken and City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh.

Aiken County enacted a road maintenance fee in 1992 and now charges $25 per vehicle. The City of Aiken enacted a road maintenance fee in 2017 and collected $20 per vehicle. The city rescinded the fee in August 2021 following the state Supreme Court’s decision in Burns v. Greenville County.

After the City and County filed separate motions for dismissal, the Thompsons conceded to the dismissal of Killian and Bedenbaugh from the suit, and that their request to declare the city’s fee illegal was made moot when the city rescinded the fee.

The suit was dismissed in August 2022 by Circuit Court Judge William Keesley of South Carolina's 11th Judicial Circuit. In early 2023, Keesley issued orders denying the Thompson’s motions challenging the dismissal.

They took their case to the South Carolina Court of Appeals in March 2023, arguing that the trial court erred in dismissing their claim under a section of state code, in finding that the S.C. Revenue Procedures Act deprived the court of jurisdiction, in concluding that a provision of state law barred the Thompson’s class action, in finding that sovereign immunity barred their claim of unjust enrichment by Aiken County, and in dismissing their claim under the South Carolina Constitution.

Before the Court of Appeals could issue a decision, the Thompsons requested certification of their appeal to the state Supreme Court, which was granted.

“We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand to the trial court to allow the declaratory judgement cause of action to proceed individually and as a class,” the Supreme Court’s opinion reads.

“The case is still active for the plaintiffs to request the court to determine that the fee is a tax, which is their contention, and if it’s determined to be a tax then that entails certain other consequences,” Farrar said.

“It's a pretty complicated case that involves the South Carolina Constitution, statutes and multiple portions of South Carolina Code. It’s complex litigation, but what remains of it is the declaratory judgement action and we’ll just wait to get a notice of the next hearing on that,” Farrar said.

“Plaintiffs have every right to try to pursue their claim that’s left in the case and we’ll go and continue to represent Aiken County,” he said.

“We’re just thankful to have had a chance to present our case to the state Supreme Court and thankful for the order we got to this point and we’ll continue on behalf of the county until this case is concluded,” Farrar said.

Jane Page Thompson said Nov. 5 that when an individual or government takes actions contrary "to the constitution or they break the intent law, it's important to stand up and be heard about it."

"If we don't keep standing up and saying, 'You know, you can't overreach here. We have rights here. We need to be heard here,' I think that we lose what it means to be Americans," Thompson said.

AIKEN — Pumpkins of the real and candy varieties filled the classrooms of Hillview Christian Academy on Halloween this year as it hosted a STEM-based fall celebration called a “Pumpkin Investigation” for students.

After a morning costume parade through the school’s daycare building, students rolled up their sleeves to participate in 14 different stations set up throughout the school that used pumpkins to teach about science, engineering, math and art.

Students hurled candy pumpkins at “Goliath” using plastic spoon catapults, tested real pumpkins to see whether they would sink or float and used magnifying glasses to examine pumpkin seeds up close. Other stations gave kids a chance to paint using halved pumpkins and to see how many pumpkins they could stack in a tower.

“It’s really a mix of everything we try to do here. We try to give the students opportunities that they might not have in other places,” said Dr. Amy Edwards, Head of School. “We try to bring real-world experiences into the classroom and just to let them know, hey, three-year-olds are scientists too.”

The idea for the event came from 3K teacher Kirsten Palmer. “To me, it’s very important that kids get a hands-on opportunity to fully interact, fully engage in these activities because they learn more through play,” she said. “There’s only so much that you’re going to get from a book or sitting down and listening to a teacher.”

“When they are actively digging in, putting their hands in the pumpkins, and, you know, physically manipulating the pumpkins ... they are going to learn more that way,” she added.

Before the explorative fun began, Pastor Mike McAlpin who preaches at the school’s associated church, Hillview Baptist, shared a presentation with the students comparing Christian salvation to being cleaned out and carved like a pumpkin.

Hillview Christian Academy was established four years ago and currently serves students from preschool up to fifth grade.