South Carolina inmate charged with sexual assault of a prison employee, SLED says

A 23-year-old inmate has been charged with sexual assault of a prison employee at McCormick Correctional Institution, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said.

Timothy Darren Sherard Jr. was charged with criminal sexual conduct in the first degree, taking a hostage and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. He has since been moved to another facility.

Sherard, according to the arrest warrant, held a correctional officer against her will in the bathroom of the prison’s education building. He forced her into oral and vaginal sex by using a sharp object to threaten her physical violence and death if she refused, the warrant said.

The employee who was assaulted was treated at a local hospital, the South Carolina Department of Corrections said. The attack did not happen in a living area but in another part of the prison.

SLED said the case will be prosecuted by the 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

According to the SCDC website, Sherard was moved to the Kirkland Correctional Institution.

Sherard in 2018 was sentenced to 10 years for assault and battery and two years for false imprisonment.