Palmetto State News

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of William Robert Rattazzi, 73, of Charleston, S.C., on one charge connected to the sexual exploitation of a minor. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Charleston County Sheriff's Office made the arrest. Investigators with the Attorney General's Office, Homeland Security Investigations, Charleston Police Department, and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, all 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 Rattazzi. Investigators state Rattazzi distributed files of child sexual abuse material.

Rattazzi was arrested on August 29, 2024. He is charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, second degree (§16-15-405), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment.

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," said Wilson, "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.