Lexington man arrested on distributing Child Sexual Abuse Material* charge

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Michael Edward Baker, 59, 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 South Carolina Attorney General's Office made the arrest. Investigators with the Lexington Police Department, also a member of the state's ICAC Task Force, assisted with this investigation.

Investigators state Baker distributed files of child sexual abuse material.  

Baker was arrested on September 4, 2026. He is charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, second degree (§16-15-405), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years' imprisonment.

The 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.