After sex crime with inmate, Columbia man is arrested and fired, prison officials say
A Columbia man who worked at an area women’s prison was charged with a sex crime involving an inmate, the South Carolina Department of Corrections said.
Christopher Thompson, 55, who was a supervisor in the fabric shop at Camille Graham Correctional Institution, was arrested Tuesday, Department of Corrections spokeswoman Chrysti Shain said in a news release.
Thompson was charged with first-degree sexual misconduct with an inmate, according to the release.
The incident occurred in either June or July 2020, according to an arrest warrant.
Thompson confessed to committing the sex crime, saying he went into a caged area in the back of the fabric industry building where the sexual activity with the victim took place, according to the arrest warrant.
After being arrested Thompson was fired, Shain said.
If convicted, he would face a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison, according to South Carolina law.
Camille Graham is a women’s-only prison on Broad River Road. It is a medium-security institution that houses 374 inmates, according to the Department of Corrections.
In December 2020, an Irmo man who was a contract licensed practical nurse at Camille Graham was charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct with an inmate who was a patient. The charge is pending against Aaron Coleman Jones, who was released on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond, Richland County court records show.
