A 25-year-old Orangeburg man is facing felony charges after Medical University of South Carolina staff reported severe injuries to a 1-year-old child, an investigation that led deputies to a home with no running water, no electricity, and a 42-year-old vulnerable woman found lying in a bed full of maggots and rotten food. Justice Anderson was charged with one count of unlawfully placing a child at risk and one count of neglect toward a vulnerable adult following the discovery on Mannlicher Drive.
The case began on September 4, when MUSC workers alerted Orangeburg County Sheriff's deputies about the child's severe injuries, according to WACH. That report set off a chain of events that quickly expanded from a single injured child into a broader neglect and abuse investigation, Sheriff Leroy Ravenell said. Under South Carolina Code § 63-7-310, hospital staff are mandated reporters required by state law to report suspected child abuse or vulnerable adult neglect, a duty explained by the University of South Carolina School of Law.
What Deputies Found Inside the Home
When deputies arrived at the residence, they encountered conditions Sheriff Ravenell described as “absolutely and disgustingly appalling,” per the sheriff's office account cited by the station. A search warrant described the home as being in deplorable condition, with the property cluttered with trash and infested with insects. The home had no running water and no electricity, according to the sheriff's office.
Inside, deputies found a 42-year-old vulnerable woman lying in a bed full of maggots and rotten food. The report notes the discovery came as investigators followed up on the child's injuries, and the scene ultimately produced two separate sets of felony charges against Anderson.
Charges Carry Steep Potential Penalties
Anderson was charged with one count of unlawfully placing a child at risk and one count of neglect toward a vulnerable adult, with bond set at $135,000. Under South Carolina Code § 63-5-70, placing a child at unreasonable risk of harm or causing bodily harm that endangers a child's life is classified as a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and fines at the court's discretion, according to the South Carolina Legislature.
The vulnerable adult charge stems from South Carolina Code § 43-35-85, part of the state's Omnibus Adult Protection Act, which makes knowingly and willfully abusing or neglecting a vulnerable adult a felony offense, per the same legislative code. That statute defines a vulnerable adult, under Code § 43-35-10, as anyone 18 or older whose physical or mental condition substantially impairs their ability to care for or protect themselves. High bond amounts in South Carolina General Sessions Court typically reflect the severity of concurrent felony charges like these, according to the Law Office of James R. Snell, Jr., LLC.
A Sheriff With Deep Ties to the County
Sheriff Ravenell, who has led the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office since he was first elected in January 2011, was sworn in for his fourth term in January 2025, making him the longest-serving sheriff in Orangeburg County history, according to WLTX. His tenure gives the office institutional weight as it handles a case involving both a child victim and an adult determined to meet the state's vulnerable-person standard.
Cases like this one typically move through more than just the criminal courts. The South Carolina Department of Social Services' Adult Advocacy Division is mandated to investigate non-criminal reports of caregiver abuse and neglect and can provide temporary protective services to vulnerable adults, according to the agency's 2024 Annual Accountability Report. The agency also runs a centralized, 24/7 abuse and neglect hotline that fields roughly 520 calls a day, part of more than 2.45 million contact center interactions the agency logged in 2025, per an AWS Public Sector Blog account of the agency's operations.
Mandatory reporting laws in South Carolina carry their own enforcement teeth. Under SC Code § 43-35-25, any mandated reporter who willfully fails to report suspected abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult commits a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $2,500 and up to one year in prison, according to the Silver Law Group. The state has shown continued appetite for pursuing these cases: earlier this month, the South Carolina Attorney General's Office announced felony charges under the same adult-neglect statute against a separate caregiver through its Vulnerable Adults and Medicaid Provider Fraud unit.
The exact relationship between Anderson, the injured child, and the vulnerable woman found in the home has not been detailed publicly, nor has it been reported whether other caregivers or residents lived at the Mannlicher Drive property. The current protective custody status and medical recovery of both the child and the woman also remain unreported as the investigation continues.
