Beaufort County men arrested on Child Sexual Abuse Material* charges

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Dominic Christian Eve, 30, of Seabrook, S.C., Bryan Joel Ajocum Palacios, 30, of Beaufort, S.C., and William Nathaniel Smith Jr., 20, of Beaufort, S.C., on four total charges connected to the sexual exploitation of minors. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Attorney General's Office made the arrests in these unrelated cases. Investigators with the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office and Homeland Security Investigations, both also members of the state's ICAC Task Force, assisted with these investigations.

Investigators received CyberTipline reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which led them to Eve, Palacios, and Smith. Investigators state Eve and Palacios possessed files of child sexual abuse material, and Smith distributed files of child sexual abuse material.  

Eve was arrested on June 3, 2026. He is charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, third degree (§16-15-410), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment.

Palacios was arrested on June 3, 2026. He is charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, third degree (§16-15-410), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment.

Smith was arrested on June 3, 2026. 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.

These cases will be prosecuted by the Attorney General's Office.

Attorney General Wilson stressed that 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.