SC deputy sexually assaulted inmates, once while supervisors were present, solicitor says
A former corrections deputy is heading to prison after he sexually assaulted multiple inmates and co-workers. In at least one instance, his supervisors were present, according to the 9th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
Avery Richard Smith, a former Berkeley County detention deputy, pled guilty to 11 charges on Tuesday, including four counts of first-degree degree assault and battery, five counts of third-degree assault and battery and two counts of misconduct in office, a news release said. The charges came after Smith assaulted nine different victims at the Hill-Finklea Detention Center, including coworkers, beginning in 2022, a news release said.
He received a 10-year maximum sentence from Judge Roger M. Young.
In addition, two of Smith’s supervisors, former Sgt. Christopher Dozier and former Lt. Frankie Snider, were each charged with one count of misconduct in office for failing to act on the victims’ reports to them, according to the release. Charges against Dozier and Snider are pending.
“I applaud Sheriff Duane Lewis who did not skip a beat in acting upon the victims’ complaints once he learned of them,” 9th Circuit Solicitor Scarlett A. Wilson said in the news release. “That, coupled with the judge’s maximum sentence, is important vindication for the victims who suffered at the hands of a serial harasser.”
In June 2024, an inmate reported that Smith took her from the booking area and placed her in a room where he and the victim were alone, the release said. While there, Smith described areas of the jail that lacked video surveillance and told the inmate that he wanted to have sex with her, according to the release.
When the victim told him “no,” Smith returned her to the booking area where he then took her hand and placed it on his genitals as they were alone in the hallway, the release said.
Following the inmate’s complaint, eight other women came forward and described multiple instances of assault by Smith, including when he “grabbed their breasts and buttocks, pushed them up against walls and rubbed his body on them, grabbed them from behind, kissed them, and put his hands on their necks,” the release said, adding that Smith routinely used profanity to describe sexually explicit acts he intended to perform on the victims.
One of the assaults involved Smith’s coworker, who was a subordinate, according to the release. Under threat of refusing to approve her training documents, Smith coerced the coworker to engage in sexual acts with him.
After learning of the alleged offenses, Lewis terminated Smith, Dozier and Snider, and called on the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to conduct an independent investigation, according to the release.
SLED corroborated key portions of the victims’ accounts by reviewing the jail surveillance system, and found that, in at least one video, both of Smith’s supervisors were present while the acts took place, the release said.
This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 4:12 PM.
