9, including detention officers, indicted in SC prison contraband investigation

SOUTH CAROLINA — 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.

“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.

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

1. Abbygale Alexandria El-Dier (Bond denied)
1. Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor, First Degree (5 Counts): 25 Years to Life
2. Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, First Degree (10 Counts): 3 to 20 Years
3. Criminal Conspiracy: 0 to 5 Years
2. Jacob Nathaniel Lance (Bond denied)
1. Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor, First Degree (5 Counts): 25 Years to Life
2. Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, First Degree (10 Counts): 3 to 20 Years
3. Criminal Conspiracy: 0 to 5 Years
3. Brittany Nicole Welch ($10,000 bond)
1. Misconduct in Office: 0 to 10 Years
2. Obstruction of Justice: 0 to 10 Years
4. Brian Darold Keely ($7500 bond)
1. Criminal Conspiracy: 0 to 5 Years
2. Furnish or Attempt to Furnish Contraband: 1 to 10 Years
3. Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Third Degree: 0 to 10 Years

BLOCK PARTY

1. Alexis Tucker ($10,000 bond)
1. Trafficking Cocaine, 200-400 Grams: 25 Years
2. Trafficking Methamphetamine, 400 or More Grams: 25 Years
3. Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana: 0 to 5 Years
4. Furnishing Contraband to a Prisoner: 0 to 10 Years
5. Misconduct in Office: 0 to 10 Years
6. Criminal Conspiracy: 0 to 5 Years
2. Jorge Romero-Navarro ($10,000 bond)
1. Misconduct in Office: 0 to 10 Years
2. Criminal Conspiracy: 0 to 5 Years

GATEKEEPER

1. Whitney Thurmond ($10,000 bond)
1. Misconduct in Office: 0 to 10 Years
2. Dontai Parks ($7500 bond)
1. Misconduct in Office: 0 to 10 Years
3. Brandon Taylor (Hearing at a later date)
1. Misconduct in Office: 0 to 10 Years

The July 2023 indictments resulted in 18 counts against five defendants:

1. Brittany Marie Pixley
1. Misconduct in Office (4 counts): 0-10 years
2. Sexual Misconduct with an Inmate: 0-10 years
3. Criminal Conspiracy: 0-5 years or $5,000
4. 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
2. Judy Willis Mather
1. Misconduct in Office: 0-10 years
2. Criminal Conspiracy: 0-5 years or $5,000
3. Money Laundering, value greater than $100,000: 0-20 years and up to $250,000 or twice value of financial transactions, whichever greater
3. Shaquaila Ewnique Morgan
1. Misconduct in Office (4 counts): 25-30 years and $200,000
2. Criminal Conspiracy
3. Money Laundering
4. Dion T. Gaines
1. Misconduct in Office: 0-10 years
2. Criminal Conspiracy: 0-5 years or $5,000
3. 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
4. Ethics Violation: 0-10 years and $10,000
5. George Stevenson Leverette
1. Trafficking Methamphetamine, 100-200 grams: 25 years and $50,000
2. Possession of a Schedule II Controlled Substance (Amphetamine): 0-6 months and $1,000
3. Unlawful Possession of Prescription Medication (Sildenafil): 0-2 years and $500
4. 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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