Four Upstate men arrested on Child Sexual Abuse Material* charges

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Terry Wayne Harwood, 67, of Gray Court, S.C., Carson Elijhah Brooks, 19, of  Simpsonville, S.C., Timothy John Sams, 47, of Greenville, S.C., and Dario Alexander Cortes Alonso, 20, of Anderson, S.C., on 18 total charges connected to the sexual exploitation of minors. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Attorney General's Office, Greenville County Sheriff's Office, Greenville Police Department, and the Anderson County Sheriff's Office made the arrests in these unrelated cases.  Investigators with the U.S. Secret Service, Laurens County Sheriff's Office, and S.C. Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon, all 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 Harwood, Alonso, and Sams. Investigators state that Harwood possessed and distributed files of child sexual abuse material, Brooks and Alonso possessed files of child sexual abuse material, and Sams distributed files of child sexual abuse material.  

Harwood was arrested on February 26, 2026. 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; and five 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.

Brooks was arrested on March 3, 2026. He is charged with 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.

Sams was arrested on March 4, 2026. He is charged with five 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.

Alonso was arrested on March 5, 2026. 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.

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.