Edgefield County Man Arrested on Child Sexual Abuse Material* Charges

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - Nov. 17, 2020 - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Dustin Aaron Adams, 41, of North Augusta, S.C., on six charges connected to the sexual exploitation of minors. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Attorney General's Office made the arrest. Investigators with the Edgefield County Sheriff's Office, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and U.S. Secret Service, all 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 Adams. Investigators state Adams distributed and possessed files of child sexual abuse material.  

Adams was arrested on November 13, 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 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.

Adams was previously convicted on related charges in 2012.

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.