Aiken County Man Arrested on Child Sexual Abuse Material* Charges

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - Dec. 4, 2020 - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Michael David Barnwell, 35, of Williston, S.C., on four charges connected to the sexual exploitation of minors. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Aiken County Sheriff's Office made the arrest.

Investigators state Barnwell possessed multiple files of child sexual abuse material.  

Barnwell was arrested on November 30, 2020. He is charged with 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.

Barnwell was convicted on related charges in 2017.

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.