MOUNT PLEASANT — Authorities revealed today that accused child molester Louis “Skip” ReVille served as a state-sanctioned foster parent who hosted four children in his home over a two-year period.
The state Department of Social Services placed the children with ReVille between 2004 and 2006, agency spokeswoman Marilyn Matheus said. She would not reveal the ages or genders of the children, but people who know the well-traveled coach and educator said at least of two of the kids were adolescent boys
Matheus said ReVille opted out of foster parenthood in 2006 of his own accord. DSS received no complaints about his conduct during the two-year period he took in kids, she said.
The agency, however, plans an internal investigation and is working with local law enforcement in light of allegations against ReVille that have surfaced in recent days, Matheus said.
Mount Pleasant police have charged ReVille, 32, with molesting five teenage boys, and detectives have indicated that more charges are expected in the coming days.
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The most recent charges involve allegations that ReVille fondled a 13-year-old boy about 10 times and performed a similar act on another boy, 14, according to arrest affidavits. The documents indicate the acts occurred “on the roadways of Mount Pleasant” and police Capt. Amy McCarthy said they appear to have taken place in ReVille’s car.
ReVille appeared in Charleston County bond court this morning on two charges of committing a lewd act on a child under age 16. Wearing a striped jail jumpsuit, an unshaven face and dejected look, he said nothing beyond providing his home address and answering “yes” or “no” to the judge’s questions.
Magistrate Linda Lombard set his bail on the charges at $400,000, bringing his total bail in the molestation cases to $1,000,075.
ReVille’s attorney, Craig Jones, said ReVille is “extremely remorseful” for his actions and plans to continue cooperating with investigators in his molestation case.
“He is sorry for all the pain he has caused,” he said.
Jones said ReVille told him from the start that he wants to continue cooperating with the investigation in the hopes that will bring some comfort to the victims. “There is obviously no way that he can repair the damage that has been done.” Jones said.
Jones would not comment about specifics of the charges or how many potential victims there could be in the case.
The latest victims are identified in affidavits as victim #4 and victim #8. McCarthy said the numbers were assigned by the investigating detective to help her track the victims in the paperwork and are not indicative of the number of victims in the case.
McCarthy said every effort is being made to protect the privacy of the reported victims.
“Considering the sensitive nature of this investigation, and in an effort to protect the victims in this case, details available for release are limited due to their confidential nature,” she said.
The case broke last week when officials from the Dee Norton Lowcountry Children’s Center notified police of numerous possible sexual assaults involving juveniles whom ReVille had coached, affidavits stated. He was charged Friday with performing sex acts on three boys.
His arrest came just hours after he attended sexual abuse prevention training at Coastal Christian Preparatory School, where he worked as a vice principal. The school has since fired him from his job.
ReVille is being held in protective custody, which is standard procedure for high-profile inmates who could be subjected to violence if placed in the general population, said Chief Deputy Mitch Lucas, the jail administrator. ReVille is housed in a cell by himself, Lucas said.
McCarthy said detectives have fielded several calls on the case and are busy tracking down leads, with a likelihood that the case will spread to other jurisdictions. “We have a team of people working on it. We have investigators solely working on this case because it’s so vast,” she said.
ReVille has had access to hundreds of children over the past decade while working in a variety of positions around the tri-county area, primarily in private schools and youth sports.
At The Citadel, for example, he served as senior counselor at a summer camp attended by some 500 children in 2003. School officials reported this week that a camper accused ReVille in 2007 of inappropriate behavior, but the incident didn’t involve physical contact. The school refused to reveal further details.
Police in Charleston, where The Citadel is located, have no active cases under way concerning ReVille, police spokesman Charles Francis said. It is unclear which other jurisdictions might be involved.
The allegations have shocked people whose kids have been coached by ReVille, who is married and recently became the father of triplets.
Charleston attorneys Mullins McLeod and Mark Tanenbaum, who represent some victims in the case, released a statement Wednesday praising the victims for coming forward and reminding people that publishing the names of sexual assault victims is illegal under state law.
“The allegations in this case involve the worst form of criminal conduct,” the statement read. “We commend the families for having the strength and the courage to come forward with their stories.”
McCarthy said police continue to ask the public for information relative to the investigation.
