Horry County Men Arrested on Child Pornography Charges

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - Aug. 30, 2019 - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Paul B. Vick (age 69), of North Myrtle Beach, SC, and Lee Grant Cook, III  (age 27), of Myrtle Beach, SC, on 30 total charges connected to the sexual exploitation of minors.  Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Horry County Sheriff's Office made the arrests.  Investigators with the Attorney General's Office, US Marshals Service, and 15th Circuit Solicitor's Office, all also members of the state's ICAC Task Force, as well as North Myrtle Beach and Coastal Carolina Police Departments assisted with the investigations.

Investigators received CyberTipline reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) which led them to both Vick and Cook. Investigators state both men distributed and possessed multiple files of child pornography. 

Vick was arrested on August 27, 2019.  He is charged with seven 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; and 10 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.

Cook was arrested on August 30 , 2019.  He is charged with three 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; and 10 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.

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.