SCDSS v. Sondra Campbell

THIS OPINION HAS NO PRECEDENTIAL VALUE. IT SHOULD NOT BE CITED OR RELIED ON AS PRECEDENT IN ANY PROCEEDING EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY RULE 268(d)(2), SCACR.

THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA In The Court of Appeals South Carolina Department of Social Services, Respondent, v. Sondra Campbell, William Bozard, and Larry Bryant, Defendants, of whom Sondra Campbell is the Appellant.

In the interest of minors under the age of eighteen.

Appellate Case No. 2025-001285

Appeal From Lexington County W. Greg Seigler, Family Court Judge

Unpublished Opinion No. 2026-UP-195 Submitted April 23, 2026 – Filed April 27, 2026

AFFIRMED

Harry A. Hancock, of Columbia, for Appellant.

Jordan Alexander McWilliams, of the South Carolina Department of Social Services, of Lexington, for Respondent.

Machelle Yvonne Thompson, of Thompson & Sete'fano, LLC, of Columbia, for the Guardian ad Litem.

PER CURIAM: Sondra Campbell appeals the family court's final order finding she physically neglected her three minor children and placed them at a substantial risk of mental injury and ordering custody of the children to remain with their maternal step-grandfather. See S.C. Code Ann. § 63-7-1660(E) (2010) ("The [family] court shall not order that a child be removed from the custody of the parent . . . unless the court finds that the allegations of the petition are supported by a preponderance of evidence including a finding that the . . . return of the child to the home would place the child at unreasonable risk of harm . . . and the child cannot reasonably be protected from this harm without being removed."); S.C. Code Ann. § 63-7-20(6)(a)(i) (Supp. 2025) (explaining "child abuse or neglect" or "harm" occurs when a parent "engages in acts or omissions which present a substantial risk of physical or mental injury to the child"). Upon a thorough review of the record and the family court's findings of fact and conclusions of law pursuant to Ex parte Cauthen, 291 S.C. 465, 354 S.E.2d 381 (1987), we find no meritorious issues warrant briefing. Accordingly, we affirm the family court's ruling and relieve Campbell's counsel.

AFFIRMED.1 THOMAS, MCDONALD, and TURNER, JJ., concur.

We decide this case without oral argument pursuant to Rule 215, SCACR.