Noem Suspends Sec Of Corrections, Prison Warden Over Sexual Harassment Complaints

Mike Leidholt

        South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has suspended her cabinet secretary overseeing state prisons and the warden of the state penitentiary in Sioux Falls over an anonymous sexual harassment complaint. 

      Secretary of Corrections Mike Leidholt and State Penitentiary Warden Darin Young are both on administrative leave.

      Allegations include that supervising corrections officers regularly sexually harass their fellow employees, employee morale is low, and promotions are plagued by nepotism. 

      The two pages of the complaint released by Noem’s office allege that supervising corrections offices were allowed to sexually harass prison employees and that attempts to report the harassment were ignored.