Attorney General announces home care aide charged with sexually assaulting minor and vulnerable adult

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that his office’s Vulnerable Adults and Medicaid Provider Fraud unit (VAMPF) has arrested Ya’Zeir Armayne Hedgeman, 25 years old, of Greenville, S.C. 

Hedgeman faces the following charges:

• One (1) count of Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor - Victim Under 16 Years of Age, Second Degree {§16-03-0655(B)(2)}
• One (1) count of Criminal Sexual Conduct, Third Degree {§16-03-0654}
• One (1) count of Abuse of a Vulnerable Adult {§43-35-0085(B)}
• One (1) count of Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor {§16-17-0490}

Hedgeman was booked into the Greenville County Detention Center on January 9, 2026.

A joint investigation by VAMPF and the Greenville Police Department uncovered allegations that, between May 1, 2025, and August 18, 2025, Ya’Zeir Hedgeman committed sexual battery against two victims, a minor and a vulnerable adult, while employed as their home care aide, at a private residence in Greenville. Hedgeman had reason to know the vulnerable adult victim had a mental condition that substantially impaired her ability to care for or protect herself.

According to investigators, both victims disclosed that Hedgeman committed criminal sexual conduct upon each of them. The vulnerable adult, specifically, reports being awoken from her sleep by the nonconsensual conduct.

Additionally, investigators allege that Hedgeman knowingly and willfully encouraged and caused the minor victim to violate South Carolina law by obtaining and providing her with nicotine electronic smoking devices, which she was prohibited from possessing under state law due to her age.

South Carolina Offenses and Penalties:

• Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor – Victim Under 16 Years of Age, Second Degree – Felony, punishable by imprisonment for not more than 20 years.
• Criminal Sexual Conduct, Third Degree – Felony, punishable by imprisonment for not more than 10 years.
• Abuse of a Vulnerable Adult – Felony, punishable by imprisonment for not more than 5 years.
• Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor – Misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for not more than 3 years and/or a fine of not more than $3,000.

This case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office.

Pursuant to federal regulations, VAMPF has authority over Medicaid provider fraud; abuse and neglect of Medicaid beneficiaries in any setting; and the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of individuals residing in assisted living facilities or nursing homes. 

Attorney General Wilson stressed all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.

The South Carolina Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, dba VAMPF, receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $2,964,287 for federal fiscal year 2026. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $988,096 for FFY 2026, is funded by South Carolina.