South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Maria Grace Seipel, a 21-year-old from Lexington, South Carolina, on multiple charges related to the sexual exploitation of a minor. The arrest was carried out by Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Lexington Police Department. Additional assistance in the investigation was provided by investigators from the Attorney General’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Secret Service, all members of the state’s ICAC Task Force.
The investigation began after a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) led authorities to Seipel. According to investigators, Seipel engaged in criminal sexual conduct with a minor and distributed as well as possessed files containing child sexual abuse material.
Seipel was taken into custody on May 22, 2025. She faces one charge of criminal sexual conduct with a minor in the first degree (§16-3-655(A)(1)), three charges of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor (§16-15-405), each carrying a potential sentence of up to 10 years imprisonment per count, and one charge of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor (§16-15-410), also punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment.
The Attorney General’s Office will handle the prosecution. Attorney General Wilson emphasized that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
Child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is used instead of “child pornography” as it more accurately describes these serious crimes. The term “pornography” may imply consent which is not applicable in such cases; thus globally CSAM is replacing “child pornography.”
