Source: abcnews.go.com 1/13/26 Prosecutors are seeking a 20-year sentence for a former South Carolina legislator who pleaded guilty to distributing child sex abuse videos on social media COLUMBIA, S.C. — Prosecutors are asking a judge to sentence a former Republican South Carolina legislator to 20 years in prison for sending hundreds of videos of children being sexually abused to people across the country on social media as he advocated for several laws meant to protect kids. RJ May is asking the judge for mercy and a five-year sentence, saying he was addicted to…
Read MoreTag: South Carolina
SC: Bills aim to stiffen penalties for CP, including a minimum penalty
Source: foxcarolina.com 1/8/25 COLUMBIA, S.C. (FOX Carolina) – As South Carolina lawmakers prepare to head back to the statehouse, there’s now a push to crack down on penalties for child predators. FOX Carolina Investigates previously uncovered how hundreds of offenders convicted of having child pornography are able to avoid prison time. In South Carolina, if someone has child pornography, also called child sexual abuse material, they are charged with sexual exploitation of a minor. The law carries three degrees depending on the severity of the crime. For first degree, which is the…
Read MoreSC: Ex-Richland County deputy accused of stealing money from sex offenders
Source: wistv.com 7/28/25 A former deputy with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department was arrested after allegedly stealing money from sex offenders. RCSD said 31-year-old Jessica Way was arrested Monday and charged with petit larceny. The department said the charge was linked to an internal audit from July 16 that showed a $410 cash discrepancy from the sex offender registry receipts. The audit information was then given to the sheriff’s department’s criminal investigations division to open a case. According to authorities, the investigation found Way allegedly stole money from sex offenders…
Read MoreSC: Church fires long-time pastor after finding out he was convicted 27 years ago of sex offense
Source: chvnradio.com 7/19/24 A church in South Carolina just fired their pastor after finding out some disturbing information about him regarding an assault on a 14-year-old girl. Pastor Donald _____ has been fired from his position at Eternal Church in Fort Mill, SC, in the U.S.A. It was recently revealed that Donald is a registered sex offender convicted of sexual misconduct with a 14-year-old girl, an incident that took place 27 years ago. … The Eternal church elders shared that a few leaders were aware of Donald ’s criminal past.…
Read MoreSC: South Carolina family of boy, 13, who died by suicide sues Snapchat over sextortion scheme
Source: foxnews.com 5/26/24 A South Carolina mother is suing Snapchat after her 13-year-old son died by suicide last year. The family says young Timothy Barnett took his own life April 6, 2023, at his Sumter home after he fell victim to a sextortion scheme on the social media app. “On April 6 … it was a typical morning,” Betsy Hauptman, Timothy’s mother, told Fox News Digital. “My husband and I were waking up. The alarm went off at about 6:15. My husband got up first. He walked out the door.…
Read MoreSC: Man charged with 35 child sex crimes in Charleston pleads guilty, gets no prison time
Source: live5news.com 11/22/23 [Note: ACSOL is posting this as an example of unusual sentencing] CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – A man facing dozens of charges in connection to attempted child sexual exploitation is now out of jail and will spend no time in prison despite his guilty plea this week. Edward Borne, who is originally from Texas was slapped with 35 charges in Charleston County in July 2023. An investigation by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office shows Borne solicited someone he believed was underage for sex and encouraged them to…
Read MoreSC: Deputies warn of arrest warrant-issued scam targeting residents on sex offender registry
Source: foxcarolina.com 8/25/23 ANDERSON COUNTY, S.C. (FOX Carolina) – The Anderson County Sheriff’s said deputies are investigating a scam targeting residents on the sex offender registry. Deputies said the scammers are calling victims, telling them they have not appeared in court and there is an active warrant for their arrest because they are violating their sex offender registry. According to deputies, the scammers then text the victims a copy of a fake arrest warrant and tell them to get a gift card to pay a fine to clear up the…
Read MoreSC: Sex crime suspect can’t face criminal trial but can be confined, SC high court rules
Source: postandcourier.com 6/22/23 COLUMBIA — He was not convicted of the sexual crimes South Carolina accused him in 2005 of committing. After years of forced psychological hospitalization, the doctors at the state Department of Mental Health recommended he be transferred to a residential care facility, as he was treated for schizophrenia and schizotypal personality traits. But South Carolina’s High Court ruled June 21 that it’s constitutional for the state’s top lawyer to seek to keep Francis ____ confined anyway. In a case originating out of Lexington County, the state Supreme Court…
Read MoreSC: Man sentenced to 30 years for killing 73-year-old registered sex offender in North Myrtle Beach
Source: myhorrynews.com 3/21/22 A 22-year-old was sentenced to 30 years in prison Tuesday for murdering a North Myrtle Beach man he found through the sex offender registry last year. Kameron Scott Horton pleaded guilty to killing 73-year-old Darrell Lane Johnson on Jan. 30, 2022. Horton addressed the court after he was sentenced. Kameron Scott Horton is charged with murder in connection to the killing of a 73-year-old man in North Myrtle Beach. Photo courtesy of the J. Reuben Long Detention Center “I understand the severity of what I’ve done.…
Read MoreSC: Inmate killed at Richland jail by other inmates, sheriff says many cells don’t lock
Source: msn.com 2/3/23 Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott says five inmates are responsible for attacking and killing another inmate inside the county jail last week. Lott held a news conference Friday where he gave new details in the death of 29-year-old Antonious Randolph. Randolph was found unresponsive inside a cell at the jail on January 27, six days after his arrested on sexual assault and kidnapping charges. Lott said five inmates–including two who were there on charges of murder–schemed and plotted an attack on Randolph with the intent to kill…
Read MoreSC: Shield Ministries doctor explains treatment for sex offenders
Source: abcnews4.com 1/6/23 “When you have a pedophile leading pedophiles, it puts a really bad taste in your mouth,” Walterboro resident Kevin Lyles said. This is a common concern among Walterboro residents that live near Barracada Road. The executive director of Shield Ministries, David Truluck, is a registered sex offender planning to open a third treatment center and halfway house there. We took the resident’s concerns to Dr. William Burke, a doctor who treats sex offenders in the Shield Ministries program. Dr. Burke has performed around 10,000 evaluations on sex…
Read MoreSC: Stepdaughter of Shield Ministries director fights against his sex offender rehab plans
Source: abcnews4.com 12/29/22 Walterboro residents are coming together to keep registered sex offenders out of their neighborhood. Shield Ministries, a nonprofit organization, is planning to open their third treatment center at a vacant church campus in Walterboro. In Shield Ministries’ 2021 annual report, 70 percent of their applicants are registered as sex offenders. Neighbors say that has them worried for their children. “When parents can’t let their children go out to their yard and play because of fear, what quality of life is that?” asked Kevin Lyles, a resident who…
Read MoreSC: SC Legislature can’t keep delaying fix on sex-offender registry
Source: postandcourier.com 4/29/22 Even though it’s supposed to be independent and uninfluenced by the political branches of government, the S.C. Supreme Court still manages to be a good team player. Too bad the Legislature isn’t. Nearly a year ago, as The Post and Courier’s Seanna Adcox reminds us, the high court ruled unanimously that South Carolina’s toughest-in-the-nation sex offender registry is unconstitutional, because it gives an unappealable lifetime sentence to people most of us wouldn’t think of as dangerous sex offenders. Think 15-year-old boys who had consensual sex with their 15-year-old girlfriends,…
Read MoreSC: No sex-offender status for men convicted under anti-sodomy law in South Carolina
Source: postandcourier.com 4/22/22 COLUMBIA — Men convicted under South Carolina’s anti-sodomy law will no longer be required to register as a sex offender, according to a settlement agreement. The settlement was reached April 22 between Attorney General Alan Wilson, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel and the state’s ACLU chapter. ACLU attorneys filed the federal suit four months prior in the U.S. District Court of South Carolina on behalf of “John Doe.” The South Carolina man said he was convicted in 2001 under the state’s “buggery” law for…
Read MoreSC: Apparent leniency in 19-year-old serial rapist sentencing has been attributed by many to his father’s job at the District Attorney’s office
Source: meaww.com 4/15/22 Bowen Turner’s sentence of probation in one convicted case after being accused of raping three girls has led to widespread public fury. The controversy has also sparked an interest in his personal life. Orangeburg County Judge Markley Dennis sentenced 19-year-old Turner to just five years of probation despite charges on two counts of first-degree criminal sexual misconduct for separate assaults in recent years. Furthermore, the perp will not have to register as a sex offender after serving probation. Bowen was also cited for violating the terms of…
Read MoreSC: Former deputy, victims advocate arrested, faces registrant embezzlement charges
Source: wpde.com 4/11/22 CLARENDON COUNTY, S.C. (WACH) — On Friday, a former Clarendon County deputy and victims advocate was arrested by South Carolina Law Enforcement Division agents. Sabrina Mellerson, 34, has been arrested and faces charges of misconduct in office and embezzlement. SLED conducted the investigation at the request of Clarendon County Sheriff Tim Baxley. According to reports, Mellerson is accused of taking money from sex offender registrants in her role as a deputy at the Clarendon County Sheriff’s Office. On April 7, Mellerson confessed to SLED Agents that she…
Read MoreSC: Proposed Horry County law would ban any type of sex offender from owning child-focused businesses
Source: wsav.com 3/9/22 HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — Sex offenders in Horry County could be banned from operating child-oriented businesses, under a new proposal. The push comes after a local business owner and parent spoke to the Horry County County Council in September about a local sex offender who wanted to park his ice cream truck in the business owner’s lot and sell ice cream to children. Adam Wiseman told county council that his neighbor suggested he should look up the ice cream truck’s owner. Wiseman asked the council to…
Read MoreSC: Bill sets parameters for South Carolina sex offenders to get off registry [create new three-tier registry]
Source: wspa.com 2/25/22 COLUMBIA, S.C. (WBTW) — A proposed bill in the South Carolina Senate would set out guidelines for convicted rapists to petition a court to be removed from the sex offender registry. The bill is in response to a South Carolina Supreme Court ruling last year stating that it’s unconstitutional for the state to not have a process that would allow sex offenders to be removed from the registry. The bill was proposed by Sen. Greg Hembree (R-Horry County) on Feb. 16 and remains in the Senate Committee…
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