Pickens jail guard arrested amid state police investigation

A jail guard has lost his job in Pickens County, after his employer received word of a possible, inappropriate relationship involving a female inmate.  Pickens County Sheriff’s Office announces the dismissal of guard Chester Pierce Ouzts a few weeks after the sheriff’s office referred the investigation to the state police.  According to “SLED”, Ouzts is charged with misconduct in office by a public official and first-degree sexual misconduct with an inmate.  The sheriff’s office announced the following parts of the investigation: “On January 2, 2022, Sheriff Rick Clark was advised of a possible inappropriate relationship between Chester Pierce Ouzts, an employee of the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center, and a female inmate.  The allegation was immediately turned over to the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office of Professional Standards who subsequently discovered sufficient evidence to turn the investigation over to the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED).  Following the allegation, Detention Officer Ouzts was placed on administrative leave on January 4, 2022 and his employment with the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office was terminated on January 25, 2022.  Ouzts had been employed with the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office since 2018.”