Florence County men arrested on Child Sexual Abuse Material* charges

(COLUMBIA, S.C.)  South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Daniel James Ladd, 57, of Florence, S.C., Shawn Schroeder, 55, of Florence, S.C., and Daniel Joseph Alford, 21, of Scranton, S.C., on nine total charges connected to the sexual exploitation of minors. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the South Carolina Attorney General's Office made the arrests in these unrelated cases. Investigators with the Florence County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Marshals Service, 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 Ladd, Schroeder, and Alford. Investigators state that Ladd, Schroeder, and Alford distributed files of child sexual abuse material.  

Ladd was arrested on October 1, 2025. He is charged with four 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.

Schroeder was arrested on October 1, 2025. He is charged with three 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.

Alford was arrested on October 1, 2025. 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 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.