Palmetto State News

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Matthew Turner Vereen, 28, of Columbia, S.C., on three charges connected to the sexual exploitation of a minor. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the South Carolina Attorney General's Office made the arrest. Investigators with the Columbia Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations, both also members of the state's ICAC Task Force, assisted with this investigation.

Investigators state Vereen distributed and possessed files of child sexual abuse material.

Vereen was arrested on August 21, 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; and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, third degree (§16-15-410), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment.

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."