(Columbia) Feb. 5, 2004 - State Law Enforcement Division agents arrested and charged two former South Carolina Department of Corrections' officers with assault on Thursday morning.

James Douglas Robinson, 55, of Casset, and Herbert Tyrone Champagne, Jr., 31, of Maysville, were arrested around 9:00am and booked at the Lancaster County Detention Center.

They are charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature following an incident a the Kershaw Correctional Institution in December of 2001. The are accused of ramming an unidentified prisoner headfirst into steel doors.

SLED spokeswoman Kathryn Richardson says she was uncertain when the officers stopped working for the state Corrections Department.

The arrest followed a joint investigation by SLED and the Department of Corrections begun in April of 2002. The case will be prosecuted by the Sixth Circuit Solicitor's Office.

updated 7:55am by BrettWitt with AP