Voyeurism and Sexual Exploitation Charges Lead to 20-Year Sentence for Former South Carolina Youth Pastor

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A former South Carolina youth pastor has been sentenced to 20 years in prison under the maximum sentence for the federal charge of possessing child pornography, according to court records. Daniel Kellan Mayfield, 37, who served as youth pastor at Gowensville First Baptist Church from 2016 to 2023, pleaded guilty to possessing child sex abuse material in December 2024 after being arrested in 2023 for dozens of charges of voyeurism and sexual exploitation. The material included photos with Mayfield personally taken of women and children while they changed or showered in church bathrooms, The Roys Report reported.

He also faces more than 100 voyeurism and sexual abuse-related charges under state law in the counties of Greenville, Spartanburg, Greenwood, Beaufort, and Charleston, the Greenville News reported. According to officials, Mayfield had 5,344 explicit images on his phone, which his family discovered after he recorded his former sister-in-law, Carly Hall, in the shower in 2023, WRDW-TV Channel 12 reported.

Mayfield was confronted by Hall, who called 911, after she discovered the explicit images of herself and others.

“I thought I was just going to get my video off and delete it wherever it was on the phone, cloud, Google Drive, anything,” Hall told WYFF 4, an NBC affiliate. “So, I searched pretty much throughout the whole phone, but it didn’t take long to see the next thing.”

She also found photos of dozens of women, children, and even her 2-month-old baby on his devices.

“He did have cameras in several houses that I was in,” Hall noted. “He would plant cameras there, but then also just his regular cellphone. He would have it out any time that I was in his presence. It was always on film.”

 

In a 2024 statement by Spartanburg Police, Mayfield also took photos at wedding venues where he was the contracted photographer and videographer. He had also admitted to filming a woman in 2023 while she was in the shower at her mother’s house, KCBD News Channel 11 reported.

Mayfield’s ex-wife and members of his former church, however, said Mayfield lived a double life and denied they were aware of his actions. Al Phillips, who alleged that Mayfield victimized his grandkids, told WYFF that he believed Mayfield's sentence was fair.

“I’m a Christian. I forgive. I also understand that even with forgiveness, there are often consequences for our sin,” Phillips said. “I do believe in the justice system and seeing his sentence through. I believe the consequence does need to happen.”

He contended that Mayfield’s actions robbed “the innocence” from his grandchildren and breached their trust.

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Daniel Tadevosyan

Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.