Two men guilty of child pornography get 8 years each in prison in separate cases

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - August 24, 2018 - Roger Eugene Hewitt, Jr. pleaded guilty Wednesday to five counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor in the Third Degree in Darlington County in front of Judge Roger Henderson.

In April of 2015, investigators with the Florence County Sheriff's Office and the South Carolina Attorney General's Office, both members of the state’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, conducted an investigation regarding the distribution of child pornography over the Internet which led them to the defendant.

The Darlington County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant at the defendant's home, where multiple devices were seized.  Following a forensic examination, over 10,000 files containing child pornography were found.

Hewitt was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Denard Lemar Pinckney pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor in the Second Degree in Dorchester County in front of Judge Perry Buckner.

On December 9, 2016, investigators with the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office and the South Carolina Attorney General's Office, both members of the state’s ICAC Task Force, received multiple tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding the distribution of child pornography over the Internet which led them to the defendant, a registered sex offender.

Investigators with Dorchester County interviewed Pinckney, who admitted to the distribution of child pornography.  Pinckney was arrested at the conclusion of the interview.

Pinckney was sentenced Thursday to eight years in prison.

“Hewitt had over 10,000 images of child porn on his computer, and Pinckney was already a registered sex offender, so we’re glad they’re both off the streets and off the internet for eight years,” Attorney General Wilson said.