Richland County Man Arrested on Child Pornography Charges

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - Feb. 7, 2019 - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Joseph Edwards (age 31) of  Columbia, SC, on eight charges connected to the sexual exploitation of a minor.  Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Richland County Sheriff's Office made the arrest.  Investigators with the Attorney General's Office and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), both members of the state's ICAC Task Force, and the Forest Acres Police Department, assisted with this investigation.

Investigators state Edwards distributed child pornography.  

Edwards was arrested on February 1, 2019.  He is charged with eight 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.

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.