Greenville County will reexamine its contract with an offender management service after allegations of bribery and blackmail by an employee.
According to Greenville County spokesperson Bob Mihalic, the county is reviewing its contract with Sentinel after sheriff deputies arrested a former supervisor, Kendrick Fuller, for alleged bribery.
Fuller, 27, was arrested on April 11 and charged with blackmail, bribery with respect to agents, servants, or employees, and acceptance of money to conceal an offense involving a misdemeanor and bribery by a public official.
He was accused of soliciting money in exchange for overlooking violations, curfew breaches, and unauthorized entry into exclusion zones, said Lt. Ryan Flood with the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office. According to arrest warrants, Fuller admitted to the charges after deputies received a complaint on March 26.
Sentinel Services is an offender management service that supervises individuals under house arrest. The county has used Sentinel for more than 10 years and last renewed a contract in 2020.
Fuller bonded out with a $2,500 personal recognizance bond the same day deputies arrested him.
Fuller also allegedly pressured people into making extra payments with the threat of arrest for exaggerated or false house arrest violations.
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The men who accused Fuller are represented by the community activist organization, Fighting Injustice Together. The organization asked for the county to suspend its contract with Sentinel, review all cases supervised by Fuller and conduct an audit of the service’s contractual compliance.
“The exploitation of individuals under court-ordered supervision is a violation of their constitutional rights and an affront to justice,” the organization said in a statement. “Pretrial detention and house arrest should never be used as tools for financial coercion.”
Mihalic said the county won’t discuss details as the Sheriff’s Office’s investigation is ongoing.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Greenville County to review contract with Sentinel offender service