Three Westminster children relocated after man arrested for criminal sexual conduct....
Jeremy Hugh Sluder was arrested February 24, 2025 on 25 counts of sex crimes with a minor. His wife, Katherine Renee Sluder was also arrested.
The Oconee County Sheriff's Office began investigating in early February after a family member and the victim, a minor, came forward. According to arrest warrants, 31 year old Jeremy Sluder committed sexual battery against the child from 2019 to 2023.
Also during the investigation, authorities found three children living in the Morton Drive home, forced to live in a house full of animal feces and urine and mold. Both Jeremy and Katherine have been charged with unlawfully placing a child at risk or harm. The children have since been placed in a safe environment.
While Katherine Sluder was released on bond, Jeremy Sluder remains in the Oconee County Detention Center, bond denied.
PRESS RELEASE: (Walhalla, SC) A Westminster man remains in jail today after his arrest Monday on 25 counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor – First Degree.
31 year old Jeremy Hugh Sluder, of Morton Drive, was booked into the Oconee County Detention Center at around 9:58am yesterday. Sluder was denied bond during a bond hearing and will appear before a Circuit Court Judge, at a later date, regarding his bond.
The Sheriff’s Office began an investigation on February 2nd of this year after a Deputy from the Uniform Patrol Bureau spoke with a family member and the victim, a child, in reference to allegations of a sexual assault against the victim by Jeremy Sluder. The Criminal Investigations Bureau and the Department of Social Services was also notified.
As part of the ongoing investigation, Deputies and DSS employees responded to a residence on Morton Drive, near Westminster, that is occupied by Jeremy Sluder and his wife, 30 year old Katherine Renee Sluder. Deputies observed unsanitary living conditions inside of the residence where three children were living.
The sexual assault investigation was turned over to a Violent Crimes Investigator. Based upon evidence obtained during the investigation, it was determined that Jeremy Sluder committed a sexual battery against the child in the years of 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Also, both Jeremy and Katherine Sluder were each charged with three counts of Unlawfully Placing a Child at Risk or Harm. According to the arrest warrants, the children were forced to live in a home full of animal feces and urine and mold. The Unlawful Neglect arrest warrants against both Sluder’s were obtained by a Deputy from the Uniform Patrol Bureau.
All the children that were victims in the investigations were placed in a safe environment.
Katherine Sluder was released from the Oconee County Detention Center, on February 24th, after receiving a combined $15,000 personal recognizance bond.
The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is continuing its investigations. In order to preserve the integrity of the investigations, and that of all victims, who are minors, the Sheriff’s Office will not release any information that could identify, either directly or indirectly, the minors in these investigations.