Former program director at Beaufort solicitor’s office charged with employee misconduct
A former program director at the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office is facing a misconduct charge for allegedly informing a program participant he was being sought by federal immigration agents.
Teresa Pye, formerly the director of the office’s Multidisciplinary Court program, was indicted on the charge of misconduct in office March 13, according to Beaufort County judicial records.
In a Tuesday press release, 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone said he asked the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to investigate Pye on June 21, 2024, and she was “immediately” placed on administrative leave.
Pye was removed from her position Aug. 13, 2024, after the Solicitor’s Office learned new information from a human resources review of Pye’s behavior, the release said.
The case will be prosecuted by the state Attorney General’s office. Pye’s arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at the Beaufort County Courthouse, according to the Solicitor’s Office.
Commonly known as “drug court,” the Multidisciplinary Court program offers a number of prison alternatives for some non-violent offenders who plead guilty in South Carolina’s 14th Judicial Circuit, such as veterans with PTSD and defendants struggling with addiction. The 14th circuit includes Allendale, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties.
The initiative started in Beaufort County in 2010 and later expanded to Jasper County. Its programs came to Colleton County under Pye’s leadership in 2021.
This report will be updated as more information becomes available.
