Palmetto State News

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Sean Patrick Dodd, 46, of Columbia, S.C., on two charges connected to the sexual exploitation of a minor. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Richland County Sheriff's Office made the arrest. Investigators with the Owatonna, MN Police Department assisted with this investigation. Investigators state Dodd distributed files of child sexual abuse material. Dodd was arrested on May 5, 2024. He is charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, second degree (§16-15-405), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count. The case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General's Office. Attorney General Wilson stressed all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law. Child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, is a more accurate reflection of the material involved in these heinous and abusive crimes. "Pornography" can imply the child was a consenting participant. Globally, the term child pornography is being replaced by CSAM for this reason.