Miss SC pageant official arrested on sex charge7/19/2008 1:10 AM 
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Associated Press
SPARTANBURG -- Police have charged a Miss South Carolina pageant official with criminal sexual conduct with a child younger than 11.
Easley police say 44-year-old Joseph "Joey" Pettigrew Sanders IV was arrested Friday morning. According to arrest warrants, Sanders sexually assaulted a 9-year-old girl in 2005 at a Comfort Inn in Easley.
Sanders' attorney, Bill Coates of Greenville, said in a statement that his client denies the charges and expects to be exonerated.
Sanders' parents, Joe and Gail, also serve as officials of the Liberty-based Miss South Carolina Organization. Gail Sanders said Friday that her son has taken a leave of absence from the organization.
Sanders was released on bail Friday.