Lancaster 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 William Frank Abbott, Jr., 32, of Lancaster, S.C., on 19 charges connected to the sexual exploitation of a minor. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office made the arrest. 

Investigators state Abbott engaged in criminal sexual conduct with a minor and manufactured files of child sexual abuse material.*

Abbott was arrested on August 5, 2025. He is charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor (§16-3-655(C)); four counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor (§16-3-655(A)(1)); and 13 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, first degree (§16-15-395), a felony offense punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment on each count.

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.