S.C. official loses job after traffic stop

COLUMBIA, S.C., Oct. 28 (UPI) -- A South Carolina prosecutor has been dismissed after a traffic stop in which he was found with a gentlemen's club employee in his car, officials said.

Roland Corning, a former state legislator working as an assistant state attorney general, was stopped Monday by a Columbia, S.C., police officer after Corning had pulled his sport utility vehicle into a secluded area where police had "received past complaints in ref. to illegal activity, i.e. sex acts and drug abuse," The (S.C.) State reported Wednesday.

Officer Michael Wines said the driver of the SUV sped away when he saw the patrol car and Wines but was pulled over a few blocks away. When Wines questioned him, Corning identified himself as an assistant attorney general, the newspaper said.

Wines' report on the traffic stop noted an 18-year-old woman identified only as "employee of Platinum Plus Gentlemen's Club," was in the SUV with Corning. Wines said Corning agreed to allow a vehicle search, which turned up a sex enhancement drug and some sex toys.

Corning said he had a prescription for the sex drug and the sex toys were in the car "just in case," the newspaper said.

Corning's employment ended within less than two hours, a spokesman for the attorney general's office told The State.