Palmetto State News

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Charles Richard Wilson, 58, of Aiken, S.C., on five charges connected to the sexual exploitation of a minor. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Aiken Department of Public Safety made the arrest. Investigators with the Attorney General's Office and Aiken County Sheriff's Office, both also members of the state's ICAC Task Force, assisted with the investigation.

Investigators received a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) which led them to Wilson. Investigators state Wilson distributed files of child sexual abuse material.

Wilson was arrested on May 22, 2024. He is charged with five 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. This 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 crimes. "Pornography" can imply the child was a consenting participant. Globally, the term child pornography is being replaced by CSAM for this reason.

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