COLUMBIA (SC)
Cola Daily [Columbia, SC]
October 27, 2026
By Tiffany Coker
A Midlands church daycare worker is out on bond after being charged in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a child, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
Zachary Turnage, 34, was arrested Oct. 10 and charged with second-degree assault and battery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, the sheriff’s department said.
Deputies were first notified of Turnage in August after the child’s mother reported finding inappropriate text messages and images from him on the child’s phone. The child was between the ages of 7 and 12, according to the sheriff’s department.
Investigators later learned that the child attended after-school care at Trinity Church on Hallbrook Drive, where Turnage worked, the department said.
According to documents provided by the sheriff’s department, the mother told deputies she received a phone call about “some things today that had been going on at the church.”
She then decided to check her child’s phone, in part because Turnage had previously asked for the child’s cellphone number so he could “spend time” with the child, according to the documents.
The investigation also uncovered an alleged incident at the church in which Turnage inappropriately touched the child for sexual gratification, according to the sheriff’s department.
Deputies obtained arrest warrants, and Turnage was taken into custody following a traffic stop Oct. 10.
Court records show Turnage was granted an $8,000 bond and ordered to have no contact with the child or the child’s family. He was also ordered to stay away from Trinity Church.
Turnage posted bond Oct. 13.
The sheriff’s department is asking parents whose children may have had contact with Turnage to speak with them. Anyone who believes their child may have been a victim is encouraged to come forward to law enforcement.