Lexington County Man Arrested on Child Sexual Abuse Material* Charges

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - Nov. 12, 2020 - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Ronnie Dawsey, Jr., 37, of Lexington, S.C., on 16 charges connected to the sexual exploitation of minors. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Lexington County Sheriff's Office made the arrest. Investigators with the Attorney General's Office and U.S. Marshals Service, both also members 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 Dawsey. Investigators state Dawsey engaged in criminal sexual conduct with a minor and produced, distributed, and possessed multiple files of child sexual abuse material.

Dawsey was arrested on November 10, 2020. He is charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor, third degree (§16-3-655(C)); five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, first degree (§16-15-395), a felony offense punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment on each count; four 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 five 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.