9, including detention officers, indicted in SC prison contraband investigation
The South Carolina attorney general announced 57 criminal counts against nine defendants in connection with criminal activity in South Carolina prisons. Those charges include criminal sexual conduct with a minor and child sexual abuse material.
Attorney General Alan Wilson said seven indictments and ten arrest warrants have been filed as part of three different investigations, which law enforcement nicknamed “Clean Sweep,” “Block Party,” and “Gatekeeper.”
In a statement, Wilson said the charges could be traced to the presence of contraband cellphones in South Carolina prisons.
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“We’ve continued to focus on the problems contraband cell phones within prisons cause with corruption, financial crimes, and drug trafficking, but now we have allegations involving the victimization of a child from within the walls of [the South Carolina Department of Corrections],” the statement reads. “We are committed to bringing severe accountability for such alleged abuse.”
The indictments against four of the suspects came after an investigation into Lee Correctional Institution “involving allegations of sexual abuse of a minor victim, the production of child sexual abuse material, and public corruption.”
Wilson said that Jacob Nathaniel Lance, a Lee Correctional inmate, is accused of using a cellphone inside the prison to “perpetrate the abuse of the minor victim with his alleged co-conspirator, Abbygale El-Dier.”
The state said it intends to seek a life sentence without parole against Lance.
Brittany Welch, a correctional officer, is accused of corruption for allegedly allowing inmates access to contraband. Wilson said kitchen worker Brian Keely is also accused of being part of the “illegal contraband trade.” Keely, in addition, is accused of having child sexual abuse material.
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Two correctional officers were indicted as a result of the “Block Party” investigation for “offenses relating to illegal contraband in Broad River Correctional Institution, which led to the seizure of over 600 grams of methamphetamine, 200 grams of cocaine, and marijuana, tobacco, cell phones, and other electronics.”
In the “Gatekeeper” investigation at McCormick Correctional Institution, Wilson said three more correctional officers are accused of being part of an illegal contraband trade in the prison. Wilson said five other SCDC employees or officers at the prison were indicted back in July.
“People who wear badges and are sworn to uphold the law should be held to a higher standard,” SCDC Director Bryan Stirling said. “We will absolutely not tolerate officers and employees bringing contraband into our prisons. They break the public trust and make our prisons less safe for the inmates, staff, and public.”
The charges brought at the conclusion of each investigation are listed below:
CLEAN SWEEP
Abbygale Alexandria El-Dier (Bond denied)
Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor, First Degree (5 Counts): 25 Years to Life
Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, First Degree (10 Counts): 3 to 20 Years
Criminal Conspiracy: 0 to 5 Years
Jacob Nathaniel Lance (Bond denied)
Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor, First Degree (5 Counts): 25 Years to Life
Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, First Degree (10 Counts): 3 to 20 Years
Criminal Conspiracy: 0 to 5 Years
Brittany Nicole Welch ($10,000 bond)
Misconduct in Office: 0 to 10 Years
Obstruction of Justice: 0 to 10 Years
Brian Darold Keely ($7500 bond)
Criminal Conspiracy: 0 to 5 Years
Furnish or Attempt to Furnish Contraband: 1 to 10 Years
Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Third Degree: 0 to 10 Years
BLOCK PARTY
Alexis Tucker ($10,000 bond)
Trafficking Cocaine, 200-400 Grams: 25 Years
Trafficking Methamphetamine, 400 or More Grams: 25 Years
Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana: 0 to 5 Years
Furnishing Contraband to a Prisoner: 0 to 10 Years
Misconduct in Office: 0 to 10 Years
Criminal Conspiracy: 0 to 5 Years
Jorge Romero-Navarro ($10,000 bond)
Misconduct in Office: 0 to 10 Years
Criminal Conspiracy: 0 to 5 Years
GATEKEEPER
Whitney Thurmond ($10,000 bond)
Misconduct in Office: 0 to 10 Years
Dontai Parks ($7500 bond)
Misconduct in Office: 0 to 10 Years
Brandon Taylor (Hearing at a later date)
Misconduct in Office: 0 to 10 Years
The July 2023 indictments resulted in 18 counts against five defendants:
Brittany Marie Pixley
Misconduct in Office (4 counts): 0-10 years
Sexual Misconduct with an Inmate: 0-10 years
Criminal Conspiracy: 0-5 years or $5,000
Money Laundering, value $300 to $20,000 (2 counts): 0-5 years and up to $250,000 or twice value of financial transactions, whichever greater
Judy Willis Mather
Misconduct in Office: 0-10 years
Criminal Conspiracy: 0-5 years or $5,000
Money Laundering, value greater than $100,000: 0-20 years and up to $250,000 or twice value of financial transactions, whichever greater
Shaquaila Ewnique Morgan
Misconduct in Office (4 counts): 25-30 years and $200,000
Criminal Conspiracy
Money Laundering
Dion T. Gaines
Misconduct in Office: 0-10 years
Criminal Conspiracy: 0-5 years or $5,000
Money Laundering, value $300 to $20,000 (2 counts): 0-5 years and up to $250,000 or twice value of financial transactions, whichever greater
Ethics Violation: 0-10 years and $10,000
George Stevenson Leverette
Trafficking Methamphetamine, 100-200 grams: 25 years and $50,000
Possession of a Schedule II Controlled Substance (Amphetamine): 0-6 months and $1,000
Unlawful Possession of Prescription Medication (Sildenafil): 0-2 years and $500
Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Violent Crime: 5 years in addition to the punishment provided for the principal crime
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