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COLUMBIA, S.C. (BFMG) — A South Carolina man who spent nearly two years in jail before charges were dismissed has filed a lawsuit against the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, alleging he was wrongfully arrested, maliciously prosecuted, and falsely imprisoned based on fabricated and misleading evidence.
In a complaint filed in Richland County Common Pleas Court, Edwin Mena, of Kershaw County, claims Investigator Deena Levine falsely stated that he confessed to sexually assaulting a minor during a Spanish-language interview on March 15, 2023. Mena, who only speaks Spanish, denies ever making such a confession. A forensic translation of the interview later showed he had consistently denied the allegations, according to court documents.
Despite the lack of forensic, physical, or confessional evidence, Mena was arrested and jailed at Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, where he remained until the charges were dismissed March 6, 2025. The lawsuit alleges that authorities ignored exculpatory evidence and misrepresented facts to obtain arrest warrants, violating Mena’s rights under South Carolina law.
During his detention, Mena was diagnosed with colon cancer and is currently undergoing treatment.
Mena’s wife, Dunia Villeda, is also a plaintiff in the case, claiming loss of consortium due to the alleged wrongful actions by the defendants.
The lawsuit names Sheriff Leon Lott in his official capacity, along with Levine, and seeks unspecified actual and consequential damages for negligence, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, defamation, emotional distress, and abuse of process. The plaintiffs argue that multiple instances of misconduct entitle them to damages beyond the statutory cap under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act.
In response, Sheriff Leon Lott says that his agency has filed a counterclaim which states “The Defendant Sheriff alleges that at all times herein that his RCSD deputies were acting within the course and scope of their employment in a discretionary manner, in good faith, without bad faith or malicious motives in the performance of their official duties, and therefore, the Defendant Sheriff is immune from suit.
Victim's Report of Sexual Assault to Law Enforcement
On February 3, 2023, the victim, then 16 years of age, went to RCSD headquarters to file a report of sexual assault that took place at a residence on Old Percival Rd in Richland County. RCSD Investigator Levine spoke with the victim. The victim disclosed that the Plaintiff Mena, a family member, sexually assaulted her numerous times from the ages of 7 to 14 years of age.
The sexual assaults began when she was 7 years of age when she moved from Honduras to South Carolina.
The victim described one such occasion to Levine. The victim was at the house of a family member when Mena physically coerced her into a room where he removed both of their clothing. Mena then took the victim into the bathroom and began to masturbate in front of her and showed her how to do it. When the victim refused to cooperate, Mena took her hand, placed it on his penis, and forced her to masturbate him. He then took her to a bedroom and proceeded to touch her, kiss all over her body, and digitally penetrate her vagina. Mena abruptly stopped when someone knocked on the door.
The victim told Levine that Mena committed these sexual assaults “many times” until she was 14 years of age. The assaults were accompanied by threatening behavior as Mena warned her not to tell anyone. The victim feared what Mena might do when he found out she went to the police. 34. Levine referred the victim to the Metropolitan Child Advocacy Clinic (“METCAC”) for a forensic interview.
