Former Midlands teacher asks for bond pending sex crimes against children
EDITOR’S NOTE: The following story includes explicit descriptions of sexual abuse as disclosed in court.
A circuit court judge is weighing whether to release a former Midlands teacher on bond after new allegations that he sexually assaulted minors surfaced last month.
Judge Christopher Taylor said he would consider whether Sulaymaan Benoit, 33, should remain behind bars until a jury of his peers decides his fate. The former substitute teacher and after-school director at Green Charter School of the Midlands is facing multiple charges of criminal sexual conduct with a minor.
Newly released details revealed that Benoit, in at least one instance, used his cell phone to take photos of a minor victim who was blindfolded while his penis was inches away from her mouth. The victim, who at the time was in the first grade, told investigators that, while blindfolded, Benoit would make her stick her tongue out and engage in fellatio on him so that other students would be allowed time for recess, according to prosecutors.
In October, Benoit was arrested and charged with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor under the age of 11, according to reports.
His arrest followed accusations in February of this year that Benoit had fondled three students at the school. He was then charged with eight counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, records show.
After posting a $75,000 bond for charges filed in February, Benoit was charged in April with an additional four counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, according to court records. The 33-year-old now faces more than a dozen charges of sex crimes against minors.
Benoit’s lawyer, Tracy Pinnock of the 5th Circuit Public Defender’s Office, argued that Benoit’s case is unique in that he hasn’t committed any additional crimes since his February arrest and, therefore, should be granted bond.
“He’s not being accused of doing anything (criminally) currently,” Pinnock told Taylor. “We can’t help that the investigation has brought (an additional charge), but at this point he hasn’t done anything to warrant him being put back in jail after paying a $75,000 bond.”
Benoit’s bond hearing came after three lawsuits were filed against the South Carolina Public Charter School District and Green Charter School. The suits were filed by parents on behalf of minors who allege they were sexually assaulted by Benoit.
The attorney representing the families in the civil suits, Bakari Sellers of the Strom Law Firm, told Taylor that Benoit’s alleged abuse was “systemic” and the most “disturbing” he’s seen.
“The (minor victim) is still in therapy and still struggling, as you can imagine, to deal with the abuse she sustained,” Sellers said.
Despite arguments by Pinnock that Benoit has not reoffended since the initial charges were brought, Fifth Circuit Deputy Solicitor Anna Browder said Benoit should remain jailed because he leveraged his authority to coerce a victim into sex.
“He was systematically abusing this child day in and day out, using the fact the other children wanted recess to make (the victim) do this because she didn’t want other kids to have to miss recess,” Browder said. “And then he had the gall and audacity to take photographs so that he could relive the abuse he was giving her every day.”
This story was originally published November 19, 2025 at 11:01 AM.
