RUSSELL COUNTY, Va. (WJHL) – A school resource officer at Lebanon High School has been fired from his role with the Russell County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) following an investigation.
According to RCSO Chief Deputy Bill Watson, Steven “Chase” Benjamin Campbell was terminated from his position with the sheriff’s office as of Monday.
Watson said the decision was made after the Town of Lebanon Police Department conducted an investigation, which the RCSO was aware of. Lebanon police charged Campbell with a misdemeanor criminal charge.
According to court records, Campbell has been charged with criminal misdemeanor assault and battery.
News Channel 11 obtained a criminal complaint filed against Campbell in Russell County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. It states a female student at Lebanon High told police about an incident involving Campbell in December 2022.
In the complaint, she alleges that Campbell “bumped her shoulder with his shoulder and grabbed her hands putting them behind her back and kept them [there] for approximately 10-15 seconds.” The complaint also states Campbell’s other hand allegedly came to rest on the juvenile’s lower back.
During an April 28 interview, the complaint states that Campbell denied handcuffing or grabbing the student. However, it also states that he later reportedly said he “may have placed her hands behind her back while she was a student at Lebanon High School and he was assigned as the School Resource Officer there.”
Virginia’s online court case information system listed the official offense date as Dec. 1, 2022. The information system states he had been released on summons as of Monday after being arrested on April 29.
He is scheduled to appear for a hearing on May 18 in Russell County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
News Channel 11 has reached out to the Lebanon Police Department for more information on the investigation.
