South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Joseph Richard Miller, a 62-year-old resident of Bluffton, South Carolina. Miller faces four charges related to the sexual exploitation of minors. The arrest was made by Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from investigators in the Attorney General’s Office, also part of the state’s ICAC Task Force.
The investigation began following a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which directed investigators to Miller. Authorities allege that Miller possessed files containing child sexual abuse material.
Miller was taken into custody on February 11, 2025. He is charged with four counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor under South Carolina law (§16-15-410). Each count is a felony offense that carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
The case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office. Attorney General Wilson emphasized that “all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.”
The term “child sexual abuse material” (CSAM) is used to describe these offenses because it accurately reflects the nature of these crimes. Unlike “pornography,” which can suggest consent, CSAM acknowledges the abusive nature of such materials. This terminology is increasingly being adopted worldwide.
