Sulaymaan Benoit, 32, the afterschool director and substitute teacher for Green Charter School of the Midlands, was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with eight counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, according to the Irmo Police Department.
A parent contacted the police department after believing their child was assaulted. After an investigation, police found that evidence that Benoit inappropriately touched three students, who range in age from 7-12 years old, on school grounds.
The police department also arrested Tina Shaw, 41, the school’s principal, and charged her with failure to report child abuse and two counts of second-degree assault and battery.
Shaw is a mandated reporter for South Carolina, so if she suspects abuse, she’s required to report it.
“Our investigation indicates she didn’t do what mandated reporters are supposed to do,” Dale said. Shaw told her supervisor, according to Dale, but never reported the allegations of Benoit‘s abuse to law enforcement.
Dale said their investigation indicates the abuse has been happening going back to August 2024. Police said Benoit had been employed by the school for 2 years.
Dale said while they were investigating the child sexual abuse, they received a report of Shaw illegally searching two students in October 2024.
After that search, police charged Shaw with two counts of assault and battery stemming from the improper searches. Those charges are part of a separate investigation, Dale said.
“These incidents were nonconsensual and very lewd and lascivious,” said Irmo Police Chief Bobby Dale.
