Lexington man arrested on Criminal Solicitation of a Minor charge

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Joshua Rene Massalou, 31, of Lexington, S.C., on one charge connected to the sexual exploitation of a minor. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Lexington County Sheriff's Department made the arrest. 

Investigators state Massalou solicited a minor for sex.

Massalou was arrested on August 14, 2026. He is charged with one count of criminal solicitation of a minor (§16-15-342), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years' imprisonment.

This case 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.