South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has placed her state Secretary of Corrections and the warden at the State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls on administrative leave.
Noem made the move after being briefed on an internal review conducted by the state Bureau of Human Resources as part of an investigation into an anonymous complaint.
Secretary of Corrections and former Hughes County sheriff Mike Leidholt and State Penitentiary Warden Darin Young were put on administrative leave as of 7pm CT last night (July 13, 2021).
Noem has appointed Tim Reisch to serve as interim Secretary of Corrections, effective immediately. Current Deputy Secretary of Corrections Doug Clark will step in as acting warden of the State Penitentiary “until a longer-term interim can be named.”
Reisch retired in 2019 after eight years as Adjutant General of the South Dakota National Guard. From 2003 to 2011, Reisch served as Secretary of Corrections. Prior to that time, he also served as Deputy Secretary of Corrections and as Miner County sheriff.
Noem has also assigned Bureau of Human Resources Commissioner Darin Seeley and Secretary of Social Services and a former BHR Commissioner and Mayor of Pierre Laurie Gill to work from the Penitentiary and assist Clark in addressing this internal review. Noem has instructed Reisch, Clark, Gill and Seeley “to take immediate action to address this internal review and to commission an independent third party to investigate the penitentiary and offer additional recommendations.”
A copy of the anonymous complaint can be found below.
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