Judge puts former Richland County sheriff who sexually abused students on sex offender list

A state judge on Tuesday placed a former Richland County sheriff's deputy on the state's sex offender list after he pleaded guilty to charges of sexually assaulting girls at Spring Valley High School.

Judge Daniel Coble could have sentenced former deputy Jamel Bradley, a former University of South Carolina basketball player, to up to 15 years in prison.

“This is a tragedy of trust that you alone have created,” Coble told Bradley, 45, who stood next to his attorney, Lester “Gill” Bell, to hear the verdict.

The facts of the case indicated that Bradley, a laid-back, popular and athletic school security guard, had little trouble gaining access to and sexually assaulting female students, whether in his patrol car or in his office at school.

The charges he pleaded guilty to – sexual assault of a 16- or 17-year-old student and first-degree assault – involved two different students. In both cases, he had long-term relationships with the students.

But Coble decided against prison and gave Bradley a five-year suspended sentence. Coble did not explain his reasons, but testimony during the hearing suggested the former deputy will be punished in another way: He will have difficulty finding a job and will not be able to have children for the rest of his life, aside from his own young children.

Bradley, 45, was a school police officer with the sheriff's department. His actions were the subject of several lawsuits against the department and local media coverage of his first arrest by the sheriff's department in 2019. The lawsuits questioned whether Sheriff Leon Lott and his department covered up warnings about Bradley's behavior before his first arrest — out of negligence or intentionally.

On Monday, an in-depth Washington Post article raised questions about Bradley and his oversight of school security in Richland County and across the country.

The Post article stated: “Richland County officials have dismissed or failed to thoroughly investigate complaints of sexual misconduct against Bradley, according to a review of hundreds of documents obtained through public records requests, court records and interviews with students, parents, educators, police officials and others.”

Sheriff Lott was not in the courtroom Tuesday and was not available for comment. His office is expected to release a statement soon.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.