JUN 22, 2020

York County Man Arrested on Child Sexual Abuse Material* Charges

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - June 22, 2020 - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of John Ross Barnes, 34, of York, SC, on 10 charges connected to the sexual exploitation of minors. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the York County Sheriff's Office made the arrest. Investigators with the SC Attorney General's Office, also a member 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 Barnes. Investigators state Barnes distributed and possessed files of child sexual abuse material.  

 

Barnes was arrested on June 19, 2020. He is charged with two 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 eight 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.

 

This 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.

 

 

* Child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, is a more accurate reflection of the material involved in these heinous and abusive crimes. "Pornography" can imply the child was a consenting participant.  Globally, the term child pornography is being replaced by CSAM for this reason.

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