COLUMBIA, S.C. — A former South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) employee has been arrested and charged with third degree assault and misconduct in office after "knowingly and willingly assaulting a youth."
According to arrest warrants, on or about November 15, 2023, while Tyquine Xavier Leonard was serving as a juvenile correctional officer at DJJ's Midlands Evaluation Center at 1721 Shivers Rd. in Columbia, he knowingly and willingly choked and pushed a juvenile about the chest and upper body. Those actions were proven through witness statements and video surveillance footage and lead to charges of assault third degree and misconduct in office.
Leonard, 28, of Cayce, turned himself in to Alvin S Glenn Detention Center Tuesday morning, March 5, 2024.