Anderson County Man Arrested on Child Pornography Charges

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - Dec. 16, 2019 - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Bobby Joe Harris, age 49, of Anderson, SC, on five charges connected to the sexual exploitation of a minor. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Attorney General’s Office made the arrest. Investigators with the Anderson County Sheriff's Office, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Marshals Service and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), all also members of the state's ICAC Task Force, assisted with this arrest.

Investigators state Harris distributed and possessed files of child pornography.  

Harris was arrested on December 12, 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; and four 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.

Harris was previously convicted on related charges in 1995 in South Carolina.

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.