FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DECEMBER 16, 2015

CONTACT:

Nicole H. Holland, Dir. of Communications/

Assistant to the Solicitor
803.576.1802
803.351.9883
hollandn@rcgov.us

STATEMENT OF FIFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT

SOLICITOR DAN JOHNSON
Columbia, SC On October 26, 2015, there was an incident at Spring Valley High School involving
former Richland County Sheriffs Deputy Ben Fields, who was then on duty as a School Resource
Officer (SRO), and a sixteen (16) year old female student. This incident resulted in the juvenile student
being petitioned to Family Court (Juvenile Court) for the offense of Disturbing Schools and Assault on
an Officer while Resisting Arrest. The student was not detained (jailed), but instead released to her
guardians. As a result of the actions of another student, Niya M. Kenny was arrested and charged in
Summary (Magistrate) Court with Disturbing Schools, an unclassified misdemeanor. She was released
on a Personal Recognizance (PR) bond. Because Niya Kenny is eighteen (18) years old, she is an adult
and her case will be handled in the Pontiac Magistrate Court.
Immediately following the classroom incident, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott and I, as Fifth
Circuit Solicitor, requested that this incident and the actions of Ben Fields and others be investigated by
the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and not by local law enforcement agencies. At present, the
FBIs investigation is ongoing. Until we receive the FBIs findings at the conclusion of their
investigation, the incident involving Ben Fields is not a pending case within the Richland County
Solicitors Office.
Please be advised that the cases involving the students and the FBI investigation involving Ben
Fields are inextricably linked. Therefore, while one is under investigation, the others cannot be resolved
and will not go forward. No prosecution decisions in these cases will be made, nor can they be fairly
made, until all investigations are complete, and all evidence is collected and assessed according to the
relevant laws.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind our citizens of the mission of the Fifth Circuit
Solicitors Office. Our mission is to serve as ministers of justice in the fair and diligent prosecution of
citizens charged with criminal offenses occurring in the Fifth Judicial Circuit, thereby preserving peace,
safety and dignity for all citizens of this Circuit. Every case within this Circuit is prosecuted on the
basis of evidence. I do not simply decide cases based upon feelings, public opinion or sentiment, nor do
I decide them based on political pressure. And, I believe, that is what all citizens expect from their
Solicitor. While I am encouraged that the public is engaged and interested in this process, I feel
compelled to remind the community that public sentiment, petitions, chain letters and calling campaigns
are effective tools for impacting legislation and changing the law. However, the Solicitors Office is not
where the law is made. Our duty is to prosecute cases or to decline the prosecution of cases based only
on evidence and in accordance with the law, not based upon majority opinion nor public outcry. The
cases involving the juvenile student and Niya Kenny, as with all other cases pending in the Fifth Circuit,
shall be decided fairly, based upon the legal evidence in each case and in accordance with the laws of
this State.
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