Mount Pleasant Man Arrested on Child Pornography Charge

(COLUMBIA, S.C. – January 14, 2013)   South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Justin Michael Francis (DOB: 05/31/1984), of Mount Pleasant, S.C., on one (1) count involving the sexual exploitation of a minor.  The Mount Pleasant Police Department, a member of the Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, made the arrest on January 4, 2013. 

On December 18, 2012, Francis sold a laptop computer to a pawn shop in Mount Pleasant.   When the store staff prepared to wipe the computer clean for resale, they discovered a file that suggested it contained child pornography and alerted the Mount Pleasant Police Department.  Subsequent investigation found the file did indeed contain child pornography, and Francis admitted to downloading it.  Police seized several computers and other media devices.       

Francis is charged with one (1) count of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor third degree (§16-15-410), a felony offense punishable by up to ten (10) years imprisonment.  He was assigned a surety bond of $25,000, and ordered to not have contact with children under age 18 and stay away from the Internet.

The investigation is ongoing.  The 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.