Dorchester County Man Arrested on Child Pornography Charges

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - Feb. 8, 2019 - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Lucas Gardner Owens (age 23) of Summerville, SC on 20 charges connected to the sexual exploitation of a minor.  Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office made the arrest.  Investigators with the Attorney General's Office and Summerville Police Department, both 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 Owens.  Investigators state Owens distributed multiple files of child pornography.  

Owens was arrested on February 6, 2019. He is charged with 20 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.