Ex-official who pleaded guilty to lying to feds in nuclear project failure probe gets home detention

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A former official for the contractor hired to build two never-completed nuclear reactors who pleaded guilty to lying to federal authorities has been sentenced to six months’ home detention. The State reports that 72-year-old Carl Churchman must wear a monitoring device, pay a $5,000 fine and serve a year on probation overlapping with his home detention. Churchman pleaded guilty in 2021 to making a false statement to federal officials and faced up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Assistant U.S. Attorney Winston Holliday agreed with the lenient sentence, saying that after Churchman was caught lying, he immediately confessed, then became a source for the government’s investigation.