HARDIN CO.—Once again, Tom Maynor has made the spotlight in the pages of Disclosure.
Only this time, it’s because he’s no longer employed in his chosen vocation.
Maynor, 39, of Harrisburg, has been chief deputy at the Hardin County Sheriff’s Department since the new administration took over last November, post-election.
However, that position was short-lived when, on April 30, Disclosure received a press release consisting of a couple of sentences.
This press release indicated that Maynor had, as of that day, been relieved of duty as chief deputy, and had also been relieved of duty as an officer of the county.
The simple press release was made into a website post and a little bit of Maynor’s history—which has been produced in past issues of Disclosure since his employment in Hardin County had begun—was added to flesh out the post, since there wasn’t very much to it.
The history was as brief as the press release: that Maynor had been relieved of duty, or quit, from other police forces in the state, including as chief in Galatia, as well as from Dupo as an officer. In one of those cases, it was noted, his termination had come as a result of being accused of either photographing or videotaping females in a restroom.
The response was considerable backlash from many in Hardin County, several of whom have apparently come to be under the impression that Maynor was God’s gift to the people who had been suffering under one incompetent law enforcement officer after another throughout the county since the late Ed Conkle and former sheriff Joyce Cullison had been bringing in questionable hires.
Maynor was one of those, according to people in the area who were aware of his background.
For those who are not, the facts are clear.
The Dupo issue
According to an article appearing in the Wednesday, March 6, 2002 edition of the Belleville News-Democrat (which is available online), Maynor, while employed by the New Athens police department, was “part of a Valentine’s Day party in a bar crowded with off-duty police officers” when a couple of the cops “slipped into the ladies room with a digital camera” to take themselves some pictures.
Maynor, then 27, and St. Clair County deputy Matt Jany, also then 27, were accused of doing this at about 11:35 p.m. February 16, 2002 at the American Legion Hall on Fifth Street, Dupo.
The two were later arrested and charged with misdeameanor Disorderly Conduct for “going into the girls bathroom and taking obscene pictures of girls,” according to court documents; Maynor was also charged with misdemeanor Assault for allegedly threatening Dupo firefighter James Smitt, who was serving as bouncer at the party.
He wasn’t the only one Maynor mouthed off to; Legion Commander Jim Wolf advised that the two harassed his bartender, Irma Gould, when she found them in the restroom and ordered them out.
To add insult to the situation, when the two left the building, one of them (patrons couldn’t identify which) showed his ass—literally, by dropping his pants all the way to the floor before shuffling out.
The Dupo police chief, Doug Keys, present at the party, disagreed with the arresting officer and covered for the two, stating that they “didn’t actually go into the restroom with the digital camera, just stood outside taking pictures of their dates who were inside.”
However, that completely contradicts Gould’s statement that she went in and found them there, which was the thing that actually lead to the allegations and charges, so someone was covering up for somebody.
Maynor’s case (number 02OV0000803) was later plead down to a simple Disorderly, and he went on to work at another police department because no one took action at that time.
Another incident in Dupo had made the papers two years prior, when Maynor was being scrutinized for “impeding an investigation” into an incident that involved one of his friends in the village.
Ran off with the babysitter
And while Maynor’s history on-the-job in St. Clair County wasn’t the cleanest, his personal life at the time was under fire as well.
At that time, Maynor, working as a police officer in Marissa, Ill., had a babysitter on a regular basis for the three kids he and his wife Kellie (now Satterfield) had.
And, according to sources close to the situation, a day after the babysitter — Sadi — turned 18, Maynor ran off with her and left the wife and kids.
A court-ordered OP is reported to have been in place by the family in order to have protected Sadi, but Maynor ignored it, and his employers ignored the fact that he ignored it, once the underage girl came of age.
Maynor is currently still married to her. It’s been reported that he keeps her isolated from her family, who has been rumored to be in possession of pornographic photos he took of her from when she was a child, babysitting for his young family.
Problems with being attracted to young females persisted over the years, sources in Pope County have advised Disclosure, and may have been what lead to Maynor’s dismissal from that county as well as from the city of Rosiclare in Hardin County.
It remains unclear exactly what lead to Maynor no longer working for the Galatia police department in Saline County…but with the ongoing track record, plenty of good guesses could be made.
‘Employed’ by SA’s office
Disclosure continues to investigate Maynor and his activities in Hardin that may have lead to his dismissal, just as he continues to be employed—at the salary of $1 per year—by the Hardin County State’s Attorney’s office as an investigator, at a savings to the taxpayer.
The state’s attorney (Tara Wallace) has to use, at her discretion, a state stipend of $6,500, something the state has offered for a number of years to assist county prosecutors. Area state’s attorneys have used that to provide the people with an assistant state’s attorney, an investigator (where there is a small number of overworked law enforcement officers, the SA has within his/her purview to create such a position), or do any other number of things with the funds, including redecorating a decrepit office that’s not been tended to properly over the years by previous uncaring prosecutors, as Wallace has found hers to be in; so a dollar a year is quite the savings.
Wallace is remaining open-minded about the issues with Maynor, but is proceeding with caution, according to what she’s told Disclosure.
In the meantime, the chief deputy’s position is open, and Sheriff JT Fricker has not announced who he’s even considering for the spot. But be watching future issues of Disclosure and of course disclosurenewsonline for updates.