Palmetto State News

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of David Michael Cooksey, 37, of Surfside Beach, S.C., on two charges connected to the sexual exploitation of minors. Cooksey was arrested on February 20, 2024, for soliciting a person he believed to be a minor for sex, according to investigators.

Cooksey is facing two counts of criminal solicitation of a minor, a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count. The case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General's Office, with Wilson emphasizing that all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

In a statement, Attorney General Wilson highlighted the importance of accurate terminology in such cases, stating, "Child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, is a more accurate reflection of the material involved in these heinous and abusive crimes." He further noted a global shift towards using the term CSAM instead of "child pornography" to prevent implications of consent on the part of the child.

The arrest of Cooksey was made by the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Goose Creek Police Department, with assistance from investigators from the Attorney General's Office and U.S. Marshals Service, who are also members of the state's ICAC Task Force.