***ONE OF THE FIRST CHARGED IN S.C.'s NEW STATUTE*** Lexington County Man Arrested on Artificial Intelligence-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material* Charges

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Adam Asad Kelton, 25, of Gaston, S.C., on two charges connected to the sexual exploitation of minors. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Lexington County Sheriff's Department made the arrest. Investigators with the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services, also a member of the state's ICAC Task Force, assisted with the investigation.

Investigators state Kelton possessed files of artificial intelligence-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM). This is one of the first individuals charged in S.C.'s new statute making artificial intelligence-generated CSAM a felony. 

Kelton was arrested on October 30, 2025. He is charged with two counts of possession of a visual depiction or representation of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, activity, or nudity (§16-15-390(C)), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 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.