Palmetto State News

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of James Mitchell Wayne McAbee, 20, on 11 charges connected to the attempted sexual exploitation of a minor. McAbee was arrested on April 8, 2024, by Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Charleston Police Department, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service and Cherokee County Sheriff's Office.

According to investigators, McAbee solicited a person he believed to be a minor for sex, encouraged them to produce child sexual abuse material, sent sexually explicit images to a person he believed to be a minor, and encouraged a minor to engage in prostitution. The charges against McAbee include criminal solicitation of a minor, sexual exploitation of a minor, attempted dissemination of obscene material to a person under age eighteen, and promoting the prostitution of a minor.

Attorney General Wilson emphasized the seriousness of the charges, stating, "All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law." He also highlighted the importance of using the term "child sexual abuse material" instead of "child pornography" to accurately reflect the nature of the crimes involved.

The case against James Mitchell Wayne McAbee will be prosecuted by the Attorney General's Office.