He was training to be a school cop. Now he’s accused of Augusta rape.

Arryon Copeland is shown in his mugshot, left, and in officer uniform via Facebook, right

Date: March 10, 2024

 A South Carolina man who underwent training to become an officer was arrested Monday in Augusta on a rape charge.

Arryon Alexander Copeland, 31, of Columbia, S.C. is accused of raping an Augusta woman at her apartment last Saturday.

The victim told authorities that Copeland had sex with her while she was intoxicated and asleep. She woke up Saturday morning and Copeland was next to her. 

The woman said she asked Copeland if he had sex with her while she was asleep, and he allegedly said, “I did go in there, but not long enough to (ejaculate).”

Copeland is a former Army soldier and a longtime church pianist, according to his LinkedIn page. His Facebook page describes his occupation as a resource officer with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department in Columbia, S.C. 

 But a sheriff’s spokesperson said Copeland was fired after two months when he failed to complete the training, and he never served in a school.

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The Author

Greg Rickabaugh is an award-winning crime reporter in the Augusta-Aiken area with experience writing for The Augusta Chronicle and serving as publisher of The Jail Report. He also owns AugustaCrime.com. Rickabaugh is a 1994 graduate of the University of South Carolina and has appeared on several crime documentaries on the Investigation Discovery channel. He is married with two daughters.

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