Former Richland deputy, USC basketball player charged with sexually assaulting teen
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott announced Wednesday that fired deputy Jamel Bradley, a former school resource officer at Spring Valley High School, has been accused of sexually assaulting a teenager.
Bradley, 40, was charged with third degree criminal sexual conduct, Lott said.
On Friday, the sheriff’s department was notified that Bradley had inappropriate interactions with a student in 2018. Investigators tracked down the student and found evidence that Bradley had “engaged in criminal sexual activity with her,” the department said.
The victim was 17 years old at the time and a Spring Valley student, according to Lott. The assault didn’t happen at the school but while Bradley was in his patrol car, Lott said.
“It’s difficult to stand here and have to apologize to our victim and our parents and our community, but it’s something as sheriff that I have to do,” Lott said during an afternoon news conference at the Richland County Sheriff’s Department headquarters. “I’m sorry we had someone that I call a sexual predator. ...Unfortunately we had a monster that worked among us.”
The charge against Bradley is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. To charge someone with third-degree criminal sexual conduct, police must have evidence that a suspect “use(d) force or coercion to accomplish the sexual battery,” the South Carolina Code of Law states.
Deputies arrested Bradley Wednesday without incident at his home. He was jailed at Alvin S. Glenn Detention center, where he remains awaiting a bond hearing on Thursday.
Bradley was a University of South Carolina basketball player in the early 2000s. He became a deputy in 2007.
The department fired him on Oct. 30 because of information that came up during an investigation, a department spokesperson previously told The State.
At Wednesday’s news conference, Lott said Bradley “interfered with an internal investigation.”
The criminal charge is the second legal issue facing Bradley.
He is accused in a civil lawsuit filed in 2018 of sexually assaulting a female student at Spring Valley between March and April of that year. The lawsuit also says school officials knew about the assault and didn’t report it to police.
Bradley is not charged with assaulting the student referred to in the lawsuit, Lott said. The criminal charge involves another student. The sheriff’s department and Bradley denied the allegations in an answer to the lawsuit. The school district also denied any wrongdoing.
Bradley was accused of inappropriate relationships with students before 2018, according to department records.
In 2011, he was accused of acting in a “flirting” manner habitually with a cheerleader, the records show. A department internal investigation found Bradley hadn’t violated any rules of conduct.
In 2016, a parent told school officials Bradley was having a relationship with a female student and had sent her photos, according department filings. The photos were not described.
An investigation into the accusation by the department found that Bradley met with a female student behind a Target to give her advice on asking a boy to a dance. The sheriff warned Bradley about meeting with students privately and told him to always have another deputy with him.
After the 2018 lawsuit was filed, Bradley was removed as school resource officer at Spring Valley. A couple months ago, Bradley was moved to the warrants division, because of inappropriate actions that weren’t specified, according to the sheriff.
At the news conference, Lott said he was angered and disgusted by the allegations against Bradley.
“That clouds all the good things that other (school resource officers) do in our schools,” Lott said.
The sheriff said he didn’t know of any other victims, but he encouraged any to come forward. If investigators find any other credible accusations against Bradley, he will face more charges, Lott said.
If he could talk to Bradley, Lott said he would tell him this.
“I’d like to kill you but I can’t do that.”
The Richland County Sheriff’s Department asked that anyone who was a victim or knows about wrongdoing by law enforcement officers to call the department at 803-576-3000.
This story was originally published November 20, 2019 at 4:18 PM.