Palmetto State News

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Robert Eugene Moore, 50, of Augusta, Georgia, on two charges related to the attempted sexual exploitation of a minor. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Lexington County Sheriff's Department conducted the arrest.

Investigators allege that Moore encouraged a person he believed to be a minor to produce child sexual abuse material and sent sexually explicit images to this individual.

Moore was arrested on July 23, 2024. He is charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor in the first degree (§16-15-395), a felony offense punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment; and one count of attempted dissemination of obscene material to a person under age eighteen (§16-15-345), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment.

The Attorney General's Office will prosecute this case.

Attorney General Wilson emphasized that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is considered a more accurate term for the material involved in these crimes. The term "pornography" can imply that the child was a consenting participant, which is not accurate. Globally, CSAM is replacing the term child pornography for this reason.