Law&Crime Sidebar - Cop Accused of Child Sex Abuse Cover Up Was Sleeping with Kid’s Mom: Police

Episode Date: September 5, 2025

State investigators in South Carolina have charged a small town police captain with misconduct, after they discovered an alleged cover-up. Investigators believe Gregory Block helped local mother Janece Curtiss hide the fact that her minor-aged daughter may have been sexually abused. After meeting under such serious circumstances, authorities say Block and Curtiss then began a sexual relationship. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber discusses the egregious accusations with South Carolina attorney Tyler Bailey.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: Grow your own audience today – go to https://www.opus.pro/sidebar for 1 week free plus 50% off the 3 months of Opus Pro. HOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger, Christina O'Shea, Alex Ciccarone, & Jay CruzScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Absolutely shocking allegations of misconduct within a South Carolina police department. As investigators arrest a police captain and a local woman claiming they started a sexual relationship after he showed up to look into a potential child sexual abuse claim and then allegedly tried to cover up. That sexual abuse report. We're digging into this truly wild case with local attorney Tyler Bailey. Welcome to Sidebar. Presented by Law and Crime, I'm Jesse Weber.

The tiny South Carolina town of McBee has been rocked by scandal after a police captain not only allegedly started having sex with a woman whose child may have been the victim of a brutal assault, but is also accused of trying to cover up that assault. Yeah. So these are the people involved. We have 34-year-old Janice Curtis, also known as Janice Irvin, and 40-year-old Gregory Block. August 7th, agents from South Carolina's law enforcement division, it's also known as Sled, arrested Block and Curtis, booking them into the Chesterfield County Detention Center. And they would both bond out later that day, according to court records. Also, by the way, later that day, dozens of sled agents were seen at the McBee Town Hall, which also houses the small towns court and police. Department, and they appeared to be executing search warrants. This is according to media outlet Queen City News. Now, Block, who has been suspended from his position as police captain with the McBee Police Department, now faces a charge of misconduct in office, while his alleged lover, Janice Curtis, is accused of cruelty to a child, and they both also face an obstruction

of justice charge. A lot to get into here. I want to bring back on to sidebar, Tyler Bailey, criminal defense and civil rights attorney out in South Carolina who can kind of give us some insight into this investigation where the case goes from here. First of all, Tyler, you were saying one of the things is we're talking about the small town community and the police chief accused of wrongdoing. You find it interesting how it's being reported, right? Yeah, I do. Queen City News is a Charlotte-based outlet, and it seems to be that they're the ones who

have really blown the whistle here. Mick B is a small community in Darlington County, South Carolina. And so they're exposing, shining a light on what appears to be public corruption, misconduct in office, and Lord knows what other mess will be uncovered out of this investigation. And that's an interesting point, too, makes you think about that. So I want to read from me the warrants that were filed against Curtis and Block. Much of the content is redacted, but we are able to glean a good bit of information from it nonetheless. So it says, quote, on October 14, 2024, Janice Curtis took the child to a medical center.

Medical staff examined the child and observed bleeding. The examining physician opine that the injuries could be sustained from abuse, which could be sexual in nature. Medical staff requested McBee Police Department and South Carolina Department of Social Services respond to the hospital. Now it's understood from reporting by Queen City News that the child had injuries to her genitals. Okay, that's what we're talking about here. And the child's age, by the way, is unknown. Quote, Curtis told medical staff that the injuries were sustained when the child found. fell into the refrigerator. Curtis further stated the injury occurred while the child was home

alone. Curtis told MPD Captain Gregory Block, again the defendant in this case, that a registered sex offender lived nearby and was loitering around. In Captain Block's initial call to DSS, he reported Curtis left the child at home alone on the time of this incident. Curtis was trying to coach her on what to say. Medical personnel told him the injuries were not consistent with Curtis's explanation and requested DSS respond. So according to the warrant, the physician who evaluated the child's injuries at the medical center called a different hospital to say that Curtis would be bringing the child there for further examination and she would be sedated. And when the physician discharged this girl, the warrant indicates that it was expected Block and Curtis were taking

the girl there. So Block responded to the hospital for this report that there might be something suspicious going on. And at first, it seems he's doing everything correctly, right? Calling social services, reporting what both Curtis and the doctors had said, and so on. And as far as the doctor knows, the girl is headed to another hospital for closer examination. Tyler, we stop right there. This part feels to be on the up and up, right? What this captain's doing. Would there be documentation that those things had been done as well? Yeah, there should be. So Block, who was investigating this should have been taking notes and his, his whole response is due to the call that he received from the medical department that went to the police department. And so all this

is above board right now. Forensic interview is necessary. He's investigating it. This is what you expect to happen, but things, you know, turned out differently. By the way, talking video like this, let me tell you, we here at Sidebar, we produce so many video clips a day and we use a platform called Opus Clip, that may be very interesting to you because it's an all-in-one AI editor that makes it easier and faster to cut, create, and upload videos across all social media platforms. Through the power of AI, Opus Clip automatically generates B-roll. It cleans up audio and it reframes your videos for any platform. Opus Clip is so easy to start using. I'm to show you how right now, all you got to do is go to opus.pro slash sidebar, sign up, and then you

upload a video. In just a few minutes, you'll have tons of perfectly edited clips ready to go. So whether you're making videos for TikTok, shorts, Instagram reels, Opus Clip is your one-stop shop for getting your best content seen by more viewers across all these platforms with literally the press of just one button. And if you're wondering how good these AI edited videos are from Opus Clip, just look at our content here at Long Crime. Our producers have used Opus to help us cut and share clips of some of our most major trials. And having a tool like Opus Clip means we can get you even more viral updates from inside the courtroom faster than ever before. At Sidebar, we know our listeners have a lot of opinions and ideas to

share. And this is the most powerful tool there is to help you edit like a pro and grow your own audience. So give it a try for yourself. Go to opus.combeau slash Sidebar to start creating your own videos today. Things changed very quickly. Why? For some reason, okay, Block quickly seems to walk everything back. Quote, less than one hour after initially calling DSS, Captain Block called DSS again and told them that redacted, told him the child did not have redacted, and the injuries that the doctor put on his report and sent to her were consistent with the explanation. Now, based on the context and the rest of the warrant, this section is basically saying

that Block called DSS back and said that there was no actual evidence of sexual assault and that Curtis's explanation made sense. she fell into the refrigerator and injured her genitals, really? He told DSS, according to this warrant, that he would do his own investigation, schedule a forensic interview for the child. He allegedly asked that DSS's response be canceled. Tyler, which red flag do you want to hit first? Well, first, he should have followed through immediately.

He should follow through, went to the medical center so the child could be examined. And even if he believed her story that the injury, was consistent with the facts that he was given, he still should have had a medical professional look into it. It makes absolutely no sense why you have a child who's harmed. You have a law enforcement officer who took an oath of office to protect and serve. And right here, the person who does not have the medical background and training is deciding to just covert the whole operation and make his own decision and say he'll decide what's

best regarding the next steps. That's the biggest red flag that is immediately shown. Yeah, and from here, it seems Block started to dig a deeper, a deeper hole for himself. Why do I say that? Because listen to this, quote, Captain Block generated an MPD incident report titled Redacted that contained a false statement and partial information that was misleading. Captain Block also produced a letter for the school stating he had investigated the injury. So, Tyler, if the allegations that Curtis and Block are lying about this assault and trying to cover up, if these are true, there's a lot of people. and agencies that end up with official documentation of that lie. It's going to be very difficult, I think, from a defense perspective, to try to argue against

this, right? This is going to be very difficult, and this is where the misconduct in office is coming into play. He has the ability to issue false reports and put down different statements. He could decide to turn on or off his body camera footage. You know, law enforcement officers are entrusted with, you know, that they're going to act accordingly when they have that badge on. right here is where all the problems are starting. I mean, the questions that I have are,

did Block know her when he reported? Should he, should there have been another police department officer to investigate it? Because the way it changed so quickly leads me to believe that either one, there was some prior history or two, there was some conversation that they had in an agreement that they had. And then he started to manipulate the system. Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. What was the, what was that conversation? Was it? And by way, I don't know, but I wonder if the allegation could be, did she say something to him that caused him to reverse course and try to cover this up? And let's think about that for a second because I don't have definitive proof of that,

but let's think about it like this. So according to the warrants, just a few days after this first hospital visit, Curtis reportedly took the child back, back with complaints of blood in her urine, trouble urinating, and a foul odor. And once again, the doctor was suspicious. Let's not forget the victim in all this case, okay? So the warrant states, the physician noted injuries to the child's redacted. Captain Block told the physician that he was not concerned with sexual assault, but was going to schedule a forensic interview for the child. So Tyler, same question as before, does the hospital have any responsibility to follow up on the investigation despite what

Captain Block is telling this physician that he was not concerned. There was a sexual assault. No. So the hospital, they're mandatory reporters and they reported it to law enforcement and DSS. And generally what would happen is the Department of Social Services or law enforcement will follow up with that forensic interview. DSS would intervene and temporarily remove custody of the child from the parent or guardian in the situation. And because they reported it to law enforcement, and this is where it gets really bad, Block decides to let DSS know that he's going to have the forensic interview done and pretty much tells them to stay back. And so the child here, the victim, is still with this woman who is either one, and I'm not going to defame her. I don't

know any of these things, but it seems to be either that she is trying to stop some information from getting out. She knows what's happening to the child, whether it's sexual nature or other abuse or two, she could be part of, be the perpetrator. And that's what the big red flags are, looking at the victim here, a minor child, you have law enforcement, you have the whole system that was not able to intervene to protect her all because of this officer's actions. Yeah. And what's concerning is if you are a physician, if you are the hospital and you're relaying this information to law enforcement, you're not going to be able to question them and say, why aren't you looking into this? Why do you think that there's no sexual assault here? I mean,

You report it to law enforcement, this idea of what he's being accused of right now. It's kind of unthinkable that there would be a cover-up of this. But, again, right now we have to get into where things take a really salacious turn. Because apparently, after Block met Curtis in connection with this horrific series of allegations, the two started sleeping together. Quote, Captain Block and Curtis initiated a sexual relationship following that incident that continued until, and then it's redacted. Okay, Tyler, what do you make of that development?

What are the rules about interactions and relationships between the police and members of the public? I imagine that if you're dealing with somebody who is a suspect or you're dealing with somebody who is reporting a crime, a alleged victim in a case, you don't have any sort of sexual relationship with that person. I mean, this tells a lot more of the story if these allegations are true. Absolutely not.

There's no plausible situation where it should be permitted that a officer could be involved in a sexual relationship while conducting an ongoing investigation into the individual he's in a sexual relationship with. And from what we don't know, we don't know if they knew each other before. We do know that they engaged in sexual relationship after he started to report and investigate this. So that's a big red flag. One, he could be biased in his investigation.

Two, he's obviously attracted, and there's some physical relationship between the two, and that leads to him, you know, using his badge wrongfully. And that's the misconduct in office and clear obstruction here based off of, you know, his false statements in the reports, the ongoing relationship. These are all things that should have never happened. And that's why this whole thing was outsourced to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to investigate this. because it smells a foul play from a mile away.

So this affidavit states that Block and Curtis didn't do any of the things they were supposed to do to, you know, ensure the child victim got help, right? Let's not forget about this child victim. Quote, the child was not taken to another location for examination as instructed. SLED has not identified any medical personnel at any medical facility that concluded there was no abuse, no documents were sent to redacted for analysis, nor was a forensic interview scheduled as indicated by Captain Block to DSS and medical professionals. In July 2025, DSS opened an investigation.

Curtis refused to bring the child for a forensic interview. Curtis also refused forensic interviews related to a prior DSS complaint earlier in 2024. On approximately July 28, 2025, Curtis called redacted and requested the physician changed the medical report to conclude no evidence of possible sexual assault was found. Now in the next section, there's a typo. David says 2025 when it actually means 2024, but it says, quote, between October 14, 2024 and present, Captain Block, a certified law enforcement officer provided false and or misleading information to DSS, the school, medical facilities, and on his MPD report.

Block never scheduled a forensic interview. Between October 14, 2024 and present, Janice Curtis did place a child at unreasonable risk of harm affecting the child's mental and or physical health related to abuse that was possibly sexual in nature. Furthermore, Curtis intentionally attempted to impede SLED and DSS from conducting their respective investigations. Now, an investigative reporter for Queen City News, Jody Barr, approached Block after he posted a $5,000 bond to get out of jail, and in this ambush-style interview, Block told Barr he was innocent. Here's part of the exchange. Block saying, I'm not guilty of this stuff, sir.

There was no evidence of any sexual assault or abuse. 23 years of a clean career. I have never did anything. Nothing, man. This is, I don't. I did my job. And I think this is infuting with certain individuals. Please keep in mind, man.

I got kids. You understand what I'm saying? Barr responds. Did you think about that when you met Ms. Curtis and handled that case? Block says, yes, sir, I did. And I know where you're getting at, but you don't know the whole story and all. So, Tyler, first of all, why would Block? actually respond to the media? I can't imagine that's always a beneficial thing to do. But

B, what do you make of his response? Well, he should have never responded to the media. Of course, everything that he says can be used against him later on. But obviously, he thought that he was smart enough or I guess he had the capability to talk to the media on his own. And secondly, his response, the biggest thing that stands out to me is when he says there was no evidence of a physical or sexual abuse. He does not have the requisite training to make that conclusion. The hospital thought enough of the facts and what they saw that led them to believe that there should be a forensic interview of the child. And that forensic interview is to get, you know, cut through the grass and cut through the trees and figure out what happened. Put the child in a

safe place, the victim, where she can be questioned in an environment that induces honest. and in a way that children feel comfortable speaking, and it's recorded. But Block, for some reason, thought he was smarter than the medical professionals and the people who have specific training for forensic interviews. And one thing that also stands out to me is we don't even know if the victim ever had their forensic interview, which is a tragedy here. And so Block's response to me just furthers the misconduct in office, and it looks like he was clearly obstructing justice by taking this whole thing in his hands when he was having

a sexual relationship with somebody who could have been the accused in that situation. Now, according to local outlet WIS 10, the cases are going to be prosecuted by the South Carolina Attorney General's office. And we looked into the charges that Curtis and Block are facing. Here's what we found. So according to South Carolina's criminal code, whoever cruelly ill treats deprives of necessary sustenance or shelter or inflicts unnecessary pain or suffering upon a child or causes the same to be done, whether the person is the parent or guardian or as charge or custody of the child for every offense is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction must be in prison not more than 30 days or fined, not more than $200 at the discretion of the magistrate.

For Block's charge of misconduct, any public officer whose authority is limited to a single election or judicial district who is guilty of any official misconduct, habitual negligence, habitual drunkenness, corruption, fraud, or oppression shall be liable to indictment and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not more than a thousand dollars and imprisoned not more than one year. Town officials, they released a statement to WIS 10 saying the town of McBee is aware of the recent charges involving one of its police officers and takes the matter very seriously. The officer has been suspended without pay. We remain committed to transparency. We intend to continue to fully cooperate with law enforcement and the town will share updates as appropriate. Now, the Chesterfield County Court Records, that site shows

that several standard filings have been submitted, like motions for discovery, but it's unclear when Curtis and Block are going to be back in court. Tyler, going to you, why didn't they just terminate him? Is this the right protocol of suspension? Wait to see how the case plays out. Do they do their own internal investigation? I think they could have terminated him. They just decided not to. There was ample evidence to do so. I think the allegation, are corroborated based off of what the medical professionals recommended and what Block did here. So I think they should have done that immediately. Oftentimes, you can see situations where an officer is temporarily suspended while there is an ongoing investigation because he is still

accused. Accused he has not been convicted or pled guilty to any charge. And there's another thing I want to point out here, Jesse, is that the Attorney General's office indict him under common law obstruction of justice, which has a penalty of not more than 10 years. So I think they looked at this and saw it more than our statutory obstruction and justice, which has a penalty limited to not more than a year. I think they see this as a more of a problem that our regular code has, and they want to make sure there's some accountability here. And I think that's why they went to the extent of charging him under the common law obstruction of justice. Do you think that they have you tried together? Do you think this would be a situation where they're pointing the finger

at one another? Or do you think they both come forward and say nothing was wrong? We were working together on this. I don't know. You tell me. It's a difficult question. I'm trying to figure it out. Yeah, I think here, of course, they're co-defendants to extent. But I think that the officer has more at stake here. He's the one who took an oath. I think that the woman who's involved here, She'll probably cooperate more, give more information, whether it's text messages, emails, different times they had intercourse or a physical relationship over to law enforcement. And I think ultimately, there's probably going to be guilty, please, on both. I just, based on what I see from this investigation, I don't see there being a way where they could be acquitted at all.

Because clearly, I think the woman who's accused here, she knew what they were recommended, for the child, for this forensic interview. She went to the extent of calling the hospital, wanting the report changed. And so this seems to be some cruelty towards the victim of the minor child. And the officer here, he just completely disregarded his badge,

got into a relationship with the woman who's under investigation and obstructed justice from happening. So I don't see there being out for them. Of course, they're entitled to representation. I expect the defense lawyer to vigorously defend them, but I don't see an acquittal

at the end of the tunnel here. Well, I'm interested when Block says we don't know the whole story. I'd like to know what that whole story is. Very interesting, very disturbing to say the least. Tyler Bailey, thank you so much for taking the time. Good seeing you. Good seeing you. Thank you. All right, everybody.

That's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar. Thank you so much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you should get your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time. You can binge all episodes of this law and crime series ad free right now on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.