Bluffton man arrested on Child Sexual Abuse Material* charges

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Rio Dirk Mahealani Galiza, 34, of Bluffton, S.C., on four charges connected to the sexual exploitation of minors. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office made the arrest. Investigators from the Attorney General's Office, also a member 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 Galiza. Investigators state Galiza manufactured, distributed, and possessed files of child sexual abuse material.

Galiza was arrested on April 7, 2025. 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; and two 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.

Galiza was out on bond from a prior arrest on similar charges in 2024.

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.