EASLEY, SC (WBTW) – Wednesday SLED officials announced they arrested an Easley man along with a former agent with the SC Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services on numerous charges.
According to the release from Thom Berry, 33-year-old Christopher Ryan Merck was charged with blackmail and obstructing justice, and Heather Simpson Griffith, 30, was charged with obstructing justice, first degree sexual misconduct with an offender, and misconduct in office.
The arrest warrants say that between July 8, 2015 and March 14, 2016 Griffith, serving in her capacity as an appointed agent for the SC Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, knowingly and willingly engaged in sexual intercourse with an offender she supervised.
Another warrant says that between March 3 and March 14 the two were involved in a scheme where Griffith lied to circuit court judges so Merck’s probation could be terminated early.
More warrants say that from March 14 to April 27, Merck verbally and electronically blackmailed Griffith into having sex with him against her will and also extorted items from her including jewelry, a television, clothing, and gift cards by threatening to “expose her personal failings to her spouse, her employer, and the news media.”
Both were booked at the Anderson County Detention Center.
