South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that Irvin Leopoldo Guardado, 35, of Marietta, S.C., was arrested on four charges related to the sexual exploitation of a minor. The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, part of the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, carried out the arrest with assistance from investigators with the Attorney General’s Office, also a member of the state’s ICAC Task Force.
The investigation began after a CyberTipline report was received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). According to investigators, Guardado distributed and possessed files containing child sexual abuse material.
Guardado was taken into custody on August 6, 2025. He faces three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor in the second degree (§16-15-405), each carrying a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison, and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor in the third degree (§16-15-410), which is also punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment.
The Attorney General’s Office will prosecute the case.
Attorney General Wilson stated: “All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.”
* Child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, is considered a more accurate term for these crimes than “child pornography,” as it does not imply consent by victims. The term CSAM is increasingly used worldwide for this reason.
