Four Arrested in Lexington County on Child Pornography and Related Charges

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) -  March 21, 2019 - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Christopher Michael Dunn (age 18) of Gaston, SC, Jerome Antonio Summers  (age 36) of Cayce, SC, Joseph Matthew Hay (age 25) of West Columbia, SC, and Kaden Charles Hylton Rhoades (age 19) of Columbia, SC, on 35 charges connected to the sexual exploitation of minors.  Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Lexington County Sheriff’s Office made the arrests. Investigators with the Aiken County Sheriff's Office, Attorney General's Office and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), all also members of the state's ICAC Task Force, assisted with the execution of these warrants and arrests.

Investigators received separate CyberTipline reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) which led them to Dunn, Summers and Rhoades.  Investigators state Summers, Hay and Rhoades distributed files of child pornography.  Dunn possessed files of child pornography.

Dunn was arrested on March 9, 2019.  He is charged with nine counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, third degree (§16-15-410), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count.

Summers was arrested on March 11, 2019.  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.

Hay was arrested on March 14, 2019.  He is charged with 10 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.  

Rhoades was arrested on March 15, 2019.  He is charged with 15 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.  

These cases 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.