OCT 28, 2024

Beaufort County man arrested on Child Sexual Abuse Material* and related charges

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Rio Dirk Mahealani N. Galiza, 33, of Bluffton, S.C., on four charges connected to the attempted sexual exploitation of a minor. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office made the arrest.  

 

Investigators state Galiza encouraged a minor to produce child sexual abuse material, distributed and possessed files of child sexual abuse material, and sent sexually explicit images to a minor.

 

Galiza was arrested on October 25, 2024. He is charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, first degree (§16-15-395), a felony offense punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment; one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, second degree (§16-15-405), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment; one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, third degree (§16-15-410), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment; and one count of dissemination of obscene material to a person under age twelve (§16-15-355), a felony offense punishable by up to 15 years imprisonment.

 

 

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.

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