• Daniel Mayfield sentenced to 20 years for secretly recording children and women in church bathrooms and showers.
• Authorities found 5,344 explicit images on devices, including victims as young as 12 years old at church.
• Former sister-in-law caught him filming her in shower, discovering images of her infant child on his phone.

LANDRUM, S.C. (TDR) — Former youth pastor Daniel Kellan Mayfield, 37, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for possessing child sexual abuse material after secretly recording children and women over several years at a South Carolina church where he worked.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Timothy M. Cain handed down the maximum sentence Tuesday for the federal child pornography charge, crediting Mayfield with two and a half years already served. Upon release, he must register as a sex offender and remain under lifetime supervision.

Discovery leads to arrest

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The case unraveled in May 2023 when Carly Hall, Mayfield’s former sister-in-law, caught him recording her in the shower at her mother’s home. After confronting him, Hall searched his phone and discovered hundreds of explicit images and videos.

“I thought I was just going to get my video off and delete it wherever it was on the phone, cloud, Google Drive, anything,” Hall told WYFF4. “So, I searched pretty much throughout the whole phone, but it didn’t take long to see the next thing.”

Hall said she found photos of dozens of women, children and even her 2-month-old baby on his devices. “He did have cameras in several houses that I was in,” she explained. “He would plant cameras there, but then also just his regular cellphone. He would have it out any time that I was in his presence. It was always on film.”

Hall became the first person to call 911, triggering an investigation that ultimately uncovered years of voyeurism and exploitation.

Systematic abuse at church and weddings

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Mayfield worked as youth pastor at Gowensville First Baptist Church in Greenville County from 2016 until his termination on May 27, 2023. Investigators said he hid cameras and cell phones in bathrooms and shower areas at the church, recording girls as young as 14.

“It’s had a tremendous impact on my grandchildren, who were victimized by this predator,” said Al Phillips, whose grandchildren were among the victims. “It’s the kind of thing that steals the innocence from a child, and that wrecks their trust.”

Mayfield also worked as a wedding videographer, allegedly using his position to record women in bridal parties as they changed clothes at multiple weddings in 2019 and 2021. Investigators said he would plant cameras in areas where people had a “reasonable expectation of privacy.”

Authorities ultimately discovered 5,344 explicit images on Mayfield’s phone, with evidence suggesting his crimes dated back to 2018 and occurred at multiple locations including the church, private homes, wedding venues and even a Christian nonprofit working with foster children.

Church responds to betrayal

First Baptist Church Gowensville immediately terminated Mayfield upon learning of the allegations. Senior Pastor Josh Phillips told the Greenville News that the revelations shocked everyone connected to the church.

“This was a complete and total shock to everyone who knew him, from parents to volunteers to students to family and close friends,” Phillips said. The church posted a statement indicating it “remain[s] dedicated to providing a safe worship environment and will be ever vigilant in protecting all persons involved in any of our events.”

Family members and former church members told investigators they had no indication of Mayfield’s crimes, saying he appeared to live a double life while maintaining his role as a trusted youth leader.

Additional charges pending

Mayfield pleaded guilty in December 2024 to one federal count of possessing child sexual abuse material. However, he still faces more than 156 state-level charges across five counties: Greenville, Spartanburg, Greenwood, Beaufort and Charleston.

Six of those charges are for sexual exploitation of a minor in the first degree, while others relate to multiple counts of voyeurism. The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office will prosecute the state cases due to their multi-jurisdictional nature.

Hall, who attended the sentencing, said she believes in the justice system despite the trauma caused by someone she trusted. “I do stand very strong in my faith, and I honestly don’t wish harm on anyone,” she said. “However, I do believe in the justice system and seeing his sentence through. I believe the consequence does need to happen.”

Should churches implement more stringent background checks and monitoring systems for staff members who work with children and vulnerable populations?

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