Two Former SCDJJ Employees Arrested For Inappropriate Relationships With Inmates

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A pair of former South Carolina youth correctional officers were arrested this week in connection with allegations of inappropriate relationships with youth.

According to a news release from S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice (SCDJJ), the two former officers worked at SCDJJ’s Broad River Road Complex (BRCC).

One of them, Sadarius Williams, 40, of Columbia, S.C. was charged with misconduct in office after communicating with a juvenile inmate on a contraband cell phone. Williams “provided her personal contact information and communicated with the youth via text and phone,” according to the release.

Probable cause affidavits accompanying the warrant for her arrest indicated the offense took place on December 31, 2023.

A second former guard, Kadijah Holloman, 30, also of Columbia, was charged with misconduct in office and sexual misconduct after an investigation determined she had engaged in “an inappropriate relationship with a youth” at the BRCC facility.

According to probable cause affidavits accompanying the warrants for her arrest, Holloman “did participate in going into (the) juvenile’s room for long periods of time” during which she “participated in sexual misconduct with that juvenile.” More specifically, she was alleged to have engaged “in the act of oral sexual intercourse with a juvenile while working as a juvenile correctional officer.”

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“SCDJJ has zero tolerance for the allegations levied against these employees and will continue to hold all employees accountable for actions that violate internal policies, oath of office, or the law,” the agency’s release noted.

Both Williams and Holloman surrendered to arresting authorities at Richland County’s Alvin S. Glenn detention center on Monday (April 8, 2024). Their cases will be prosecuted by the office of S.C. fifth circuit solicitor Byron Gipson.

As with anyone accused of committing any crime, Williams and Holloman are considered innocent until proven guilty by our criminal justice system – or until such time as they may wish to enter some form of allocution in connection with a plea agreement with prosecutors related to any of the charges filed against them.

Regular members of our audience will recall SCDJJ was an unmitigated disaster for years under its prior director, Freddie Pough. Pough was hand-picked by governor Henry McMaster in 2017 to turn this troubled agency around. Instead, he accelerated its collapse – leaving juvenile inmates effectively in charge of its main facility.

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Pough resigned as SCDJJ director in September 2021 – ten days after I lambasted SCDJJ for its culture of secrecy and for rising violence “behind the fence.” New agency director Eden Hendrick has made considerable progress since taking the reins, however there is clearly more work left to be done – especially as it relates to members of the S.C. General Assembly acknowledging that the detention of violent juvenile offenders is a core function of government.

As noted in an article back in December, SCDJJ has faced chronic budget issues in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic – and in the aftermath of so-called “raise the age” legislation signed eight years ago by former governor Nikki Haley.

The law signed by Haley dramatically escalated SCDJJ’s intake obligations without any corresponding increase in funding – leading to overcrowding and attendant issues. The agency recently sought $33 million for staff to operate new detention and evaluation facilities – as well as $22.5 million to construct those facilities and retrofit three other buildings. It did not receive any of this funding.

Count on this media outlet to keep our audience up to speed not only on incidents involving SCDJJ and its employees, but also the broader context in which they occur.

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THE WARRANTS …

(SCDJJ)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina and before that he was a bass guitarist and dive bar bouncer. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven (soon to be eight) children.

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