Florence County Man Arrested on Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor and Related Charges

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Efren Eric Sanchez, 23, of Effingham, SC, on three charges connected to the sexual exploitation of a minor.  Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Florence County Sheriff's Office made the arrest.  

Investigators state Sanchez engaged in criminal sexual conduct with a minor and produced child sexual abuse material*.

Sanchez was arrested on October 28, 2022.  He is charged with one count of criminal sexual conduct with a minor, second degree (§16-3-655(B)(1)); one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, first degree (§16-15-395), a felony offense punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment; and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor (§16-17-490), a felony offense punishable by up to three 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.