Former South Carolina Trooper Arrested For Biting Toddler

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A 23-year-old Cottageville, South Carolina man who allegedly bit a toddler has been charged with cruelty to children following an investigation by the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED).

Why is SLED investigating?

Because Jesse Phillip Brassell was employed by the S.C. Department of Public Safety (SCDPS) at the time of the alleged incident.

The Colleton County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) requested SLED’s investigation following an incident that occurred on September 20, 2023. Brassell admitted to intentionally biting the two-year-old victim. According to a probable cause affidavit accompanying a warrant for his arrest, the bite mark was observed on the child’s cheek.  

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Brassell was immediately suspended following the incident being reported and resigned last week. His term of employment with SCDPS was just over two years. Additionally, Brassell’s social media profiles identify him as an infantryman with the S.C. National Guard (SCNG).

Brassell was booked at the Colleton County Detention Center on the morning of December 19, 2023 and bonded out early in the afternoon. The case against him will be prosecuted by the Public Integrity Unit of the S.C. fourteenth solicitor’s office.  That unit investigates officer involved shootings, public corruption and excessive force cases.

As with anyone accused of committing any crime, Brassell is considered innocent until proven guilty by our criminal justice system – or until such time as he may wish to enter some form of allocution in connection with a plea agreement with prosecutors related to any of the charges that may be filed against him.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Callie Lyons is a journalist, researcher, and author whose investigative work can be found in media outlets, publications, and documentaries all over the world – most recently in the Parisian newspaper Le Monde and a German documentary for ProSieben. Lyons also appears in Citizen Sleuth – a 2023 documentary exploring the genre of true crime.

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