South Carolina college discloses abuse allegation

* Schools says regrets it didn't pursue matter further

* Former counselor since arrested on separate charges

By Harriet McLeod

CHARLESTON, S.C., Nov 12 (Reuters) - In the wake of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal, The Citadel military college in South Carolina said on Saturday it had investigated accusations against a camp counselor but took no action.

The man has since been arrested on separate charges of molesting five boys in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, near Charleston.

"We regret that we did not pursue this matter further," Citadel President Lieutenant General John Rosa and Board of Visitors Chair Doug Snyder said in a statement.

The Citadel said that four years ago it investigated four accusations of inappropriate conduct with children against Louis Neal "Skip" ReVille, who was a counselor at the military school's camp.

ReVille is a graduate of The Citadel, the college said, and worked as a counselor at the school's camp for three summers from 2001 to 2003.

In 2007, a former camper told the school that five years earlier, when he was 14, he and another boy were invited by ReVille into his room where the three watched pornography on ReVille's computer and masturbated, college officials said.

"Because of the seriousness of the accusation, The Citadel's general counsel conducted an investigation immediately, including traveling to the individual and his family and conducting an interview," the statement said.

"A thorough review of Mr. ReVille's records revealed no other complaints, and interviews indicated that he was highly regarded by those at camp. His file included a clean background check conducted by an outside organization. Unlike his admissions to current charges, Mr. ReVille strongly denied the accusation."

After graduation from The Citadel, ReVille was a principal at Coastal Christian Preparatory School and had coached sports for years at several area schools and recreation centers, police said.

He was arrested in October on separate child molestation charges.

The Citadel said it was commenting on the incident now because of media requests after the Penn State sex abuse scandal. Jerry Sandusky, the former defensive coordinator for the Penn State football team, was charged on Nov. 5 with sexually abusing eight young boys over a period of nearly 15 years.

That scandal led to the firings of celebrated Penn State football head coach Joe Paterno, and the school's president.