Myrtle Beach man sentenced to 7 years in prison for child sexual abuse material

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – July 23, 2020 - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that Michael Patrick Pellett pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, 3rd Degree, before the Honorable Steven H. John in Horry County.  Pellett was represented by Clay Pinkerton.

“I want to commend our Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which is working around the clock in every part of the state to protect our children from these online predators,” Attorney General Wilson said. “This gets one of those predators off our streets and I hope his sentence will be a warning to others.”

On January 2, 2018, the Horry County Sheriff’s Office received a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Google reported a user uploaded five images of what appeared to be child sexual abuse material. The images were uploaded by a person identified as Mike Pellett, and Google provided a phone number and IP address. Det. Mira Shaw (previously a member of the ICAC Task Force) obtained account information from Charter Communications for the IP address, and obtained and executed a search warrant at Pellett’s home in Myrtle Beach. A subsequent forensic examination of seized electronic devices revealed 62 additional images of child sexual abuse material. The investigation also revealed Pellett was already a registered sex offender for a lewd act conviction in 2008, with an outstanding warrant for his arrest for a third registry violation.

Judge John sentenced Pellett to seven years in prison and he must continue to maintain his registration as a sex offender. Pellett also forfeited the cell phone and SD card that contained the files of children being sexually exploited.