Former youth pastor Daniel Mayfield filmed girls ‘as young as 14’ in church bathroom: police
A former youth pastor at a South Carolina church has been arrested on charges of voyeurism for allegedly secretly recording girls in the bathroom.
Daniel Kellan Mayfield, 35, a married youth pastor at First Baptist Gowensville in Landrum, who was fired after he was charged with voyeurism for secretly recording a woman from outside her bathroom window, also filmed young teenaged girls in the bathroom of his former employer, authorities said.
“During the course of the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office investigation, investigators discovered Mayfield had unlawfully filmed multiple girls, as young as 14 years old, while in the bathroom of Gowensville Baptist Church located at 5650 SC-14 Landrum, SC,” authorities wrote in a press statement cited by Law & Crime.
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Mayfield, who also previously served as a volunteer for the global Christian humanitarian aid agency Compassion International, which focuses its efforts on helping children, is now facing five counts of first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of voyeurism. Investigators are currently trying to identify other victims.
“Investigators have learned Mayfield set up and recorded video inside the women’s restroom inside the church on at least three occasions, dating back to July 2022,” authorities said. “Investigators do believe Daniel Mayfield acted alone and do not have reason to believe anyone from the church had knowledge of the unlawful activity and will add has been completely cooperative with GCSO’s investigation.”
The charge of voyeurism Mayfield faces in Greenwood County stems from an incident that took place on May 27. When a woman showering at her mother’s house in Greenwood saw a light outside the bathroom window, she checked to see what was happening. She and her sister reportedly discovered Mayfield standing alone in the backyard and confronted him about his actions.
While he initially denied any wrongdoing, he eventually confessed to recording the woman while she was showering and gave her his phone so she could view the video. A redacted affidavit cited by Law & Crime details how the recording allegedly documents Mayfield declaring “Oh sh—” as he is caught before turning it off.
First Baptist Gowensville did not immediately respond to calls for comment from The Christian Post.
In an earlier statement posted on the home page of its website, the church indicated that Mayfield was dismissed from his role as a youth pastor as soon as they were informed of his behavior.
“On May 27th, 2023, First Baptist Gowensville leadership was made aware of an incident of moral misconduct perpetrated by one of our staff members. Proper authorities were notified immediately, and the employee was terminated from his role,” the church stated.
“Due to the nature of the investigation, FBC Gowensville refers all questions to the law enforcement authorities involved. We remain dedicated to providing a safe worship environment and will be ever vigilant in protecting all persons involved in any of our events.”
Tim Glenn, global public relations director for Compassion International, also told CP via email that the organization is aware of the allegations against Mayfield and that he listed Compassion as his employer on his now-deleted LinkedIn profile.
“However, Mr. Mayfield has never been directly employed by Compassion International,” Glenn added. “He was employed by a company that Compassion contracted for marketing events, from 2013-2014.”
“He has also served as a volunteer at some Compassion marketing events until 2016. Though he applied for a position with Compassion, he was never hired. As a ministry with child protection at the very core of our mission, we are obviously distraught over these accusations against a former volunteer, and pray for justice and peace for the alleged victims in this matter.”
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