Palmetto State News

Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that Mark Frick, a 57-year-old resident of Lexington County, has been sentenced to a total of 14 years in prison following sex crime charges involving minors. This decision was made after a three-day trial concluded on March 26, 2025, where a jury found Frick guilty of criminal solicitation of a minor and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor in the first degree.

According to Attorney General Wilson, "The Honorable Judge Debra McCaslin sentenced Frick to 10 years in prison on the Attempted Sexual Exploitation charge and four years on the Solicitation charge." These sentences will run consecutively. Frick will also be required to register as a sex offender upon his release.

The investigation into Frick commenced in August 2021, initiated by an undercover operation in Lexington County led by the Lexington County Sheriff's Department. This operation was part of the South Carolina Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. During this operation, Detective Kenneth Clark from the Mount Pleasant Police Department, who is also a task force member, created a fake online profile pretending to be a 14-year-old girl on a social media platform. Using this persona, Frick began communications, aware of the age. He proceeded to make arrangements for a sexual meeting, leading him to be detained at the designated meeting spot. Special Investigator Jason Hughes from the SC Attorney General’s Office reported that Frick confessed to planning the meeting.

The operation was a joint effort involving the SC Attorney General’s Office, Lexington County Sheriff's Office, Department of Homeland Security, Mount Pleasant Police Department, and NCIS.

The prosecution was led by Assistant Attorney General Stephen Ryan, with assistance from co-counsels Assistant Attorneys General Michelle Pappas and Anna Sharpe.