Multiple South Carolina corrections employees are facing federal charges related to bribery and bringing contraband into the state’s institutions a week after a deadly prison riot.
Federal court documents obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday show corrections officers and other agency employees are charged with bringing drugs and cellphones into state prisons.
The indictments were unsealed just over a week after a deadly riot at Lee Correctional Institution that left seven inmates dead. Officials have said the riot was a fight among rival gangs competing for territory and contraband, and have long blamed cellphones for dangers inside prison.
The defendants were expected to appear in court later Wednesday.