Greenville County Men Arrested on Child Pornography Charges

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - Feb. 25, 2020 - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Paul Thomas Hood, age 60, and Cemp Barmore Garrison, Jr., age 66, both of Greenville, SC, on 20 total charges connected to the sexual exploitation of minors. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Greenville County Sheriff's Office made the arrests. Investigators with the Attorney General's Office, also a member of the state's ICAC Task Force, assisted with the Hood investigation.

Investigators received a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) which led them to Hood. Investigators state both men possessed multiple files of child pornography. Garrison also distributed child pornography.

Both men were arrested on February 21, 2020. Garrison is charged with nine counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, second degree (§16-15-405), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment. Both men are charged with sexual exploitation of a minor, third degree (§16-15-410), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count. Garrison is charged with one count and Hood is charged with 10.

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.