Police in Horry County, S.C. have arrested 10 individuals, including the police chief of the town of Atlantic Beach, in an undercover prostitution operation, authorities said Wednesday.
The arrests followed a multi-agency sting at a hotel in the Myrtle Beach section of Horry County late on Tuesday.
Myrtle Beach, a resort city on South Carolina’s Atlantic coast, is located some 13 miles southwest of Atlantic Beach.
The operation was conducted by officers with the HCPD’s narcotics and vice unit in conjunction with Myrtle Beach police, the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division and the Horry County Sheriff’s Office.
“Each subject engaged with an undercover operative online and agreed to meet to exchange money for sexual favors,” HCPD said in a news release.
After arriving at the hotel for their encounter, they gave money to an undercover agent and were subsequently arrested.
All 10 men were charged with soliciting prostitution. At least one of them was also in possession of cocaine, local ABC affiliate WPDE reported, citing a police report.
Quentin Robinson, who has been the permanent Atlantic Beach police chief since 2018 after serving an interim period, was booked into the J. Reuben Long Detention Center around 5 p.m. Tuesday. He was released on $500 bail early on Wednesday.
Atlantic Beach Town Manager Benjamin Quattlebaum said in a statement shared with WMBF that Robinson will be “placed on administrative leave with pay pending a full investigation.”
The penalty for a first-offense prostitution charge in South Carolina is a fine of up to $200 or imprisonment for not more than 30 days.
Robinson’s court date has been set for June 10 at Surfside Magistrate Court in Myrtle Beach.
