MYRTLE BEACH — Atlantic Beach Police Chief Quentin Robinson was among 10 men charged in a Myrtle Beach prostitution sting this week.
Robinson, 41, was arrested by Horry County police after he agreed to pay an undercover operative $120 for sexual favors, according to a police report. He was charged with soliciting prostitution.
Led by narcotics and vice officers, the multi-jurisdictional bust happened at a hotel room in the city, though the exact location was redacted from the police report.
The men charged range in age from 32 to 56, and they agreed to pay anywhere from $70 to $120, according to police records. The suspects were initially taken to the Myrtle Beach jail but were later booked at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center.
Police said Robinson’s case was like the others: he engaged with an operative online, agreed to meet, arrived at a room and paid, then was arrested. Investigators said they saved screenshots of the conversation in which Robinson agreed to the exchange. He was released April 24 on $500 bond.
Robinson has been placed on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of the criminal case, Town Manager Benjamin Quattlebaum said. Carlos Castillo has been named the department’s acting chief.
Including Robinson, the town employs just four officers. Quattlebaum said he met with the three still working, and they assured him they could cover the town.
“They feel pretty confident that they can maintain the schedule,” he said.
Quattlebaum said Robinson will be given due process, but the town will also conduct an internal review of the matter.
Robinson was named interim police chief in 2017 after his predecessor, Timothy Taylor, was fired. Taylor had been arrested in Conway on a domestic violence charge, but the following month the charge was dismissed, according to court records. Taylor later sued the town, alleging that he was terminated amid false accusations that he had stolen $650 from the agency’s evidence room. The parties eventually settled the case .
In 2018, the interim tag was dropped from Robinson’s title.
Robinson had held just one law enforcement job before coming to Atlantic Beach as an officer in 2015, according to S.C. Criminal Justice Academy records. He worked as a jailer in Florence County from 2012 to 2015.
In recent years, Atlantic Beach’s police department has faced criticism for its handling of serious cases. In 2019, the local site MyHorryNews.com reported that 75 percent of Atlantic Beach’s general sessions court warrants — those for the most severe crimes — had been dismissed without an indictment, and just 9 percent had led to a guilty plea.
Known as “the Black Pearl,” Atlantic Beach spans nearly 100 acres sandwiched between the city limits of North Myrtle Beach. Home to fewer than 400 residents, it was founded in 1934 by developer George Tyson and became a haven for Black beachgoers during the segregation era.
Over the years, the town has seen political turmoil. Atlantic Beach’s November mayoral election remains undecided .
The town is now known as the home of Atlantic Beach Bikefest, a Memorial Day weekend motorcycle rally.
