Warrants: Edgefield woman among 2 former SCDC officers who had sex with inmates at McCormick prison

Aiken Standard, S.C.
·1 min read
19

Jul. 20—An Edgefield woman is one of two former corrections officers accused of having sex with inmates at McCormick Correctional Institution in unrelated episodes, prison officials announced this week.

Jada Nicole James, 22, of Edgefield and Shirlee Renee Craig-Hart, 59, of Plum Branch were each charged with first-degree sexual misconduct with an inmate and misconduct in office.

James resigned before being charged while Craig-Hart was fired, according to a news release from the South Carolina Department of Corrections.

Warrants allege James, who worked at McCormick Correctional from March 2021 to April 2022, had sex with an inmate from Jan. 14, 2022 to Dec. 26, 2022. Investigators used recorded phone calls to establish probable cause, according to charging documents.

James, who was arrested July 14, was released on a personal recognizance bond and ordered not to have contact with the victim or their family, according to the public index.

Authorities allege Craig-Hart's offenses happened between Dec. 1, 2021 and March 1, 2022. She was arrested Wednesday, July 19, and a magistrate set her bond at $15,000 cash or surety, according to the public index.

McCormick Correctional Institution is a maximum-security prison at 386 Redemption Way in McCormick, about 45 miles northwest of Aiken. As of July 20, it housed 511 inmates.