Two Upstate men arrested on Child Sexual Abuse Material* charges

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Samuel Edgar Stephens, 35, of Greer, S.C., and Michael Steven Winiecki, 28, of Williamston, S.C., on 11 total charges connected to the sexual exploitation of minors. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Greenville County Sheriff's Office and the Anderson County Sheriff's Office made the arrests in these unrelated cases. Investigators with the South Carolina Attorney General's Office, Anderson Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations, 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 Stephens and Winiecki. Investigators state Winiecki possessed and distributed files of child sexual abuse material, and Stephens possessed files of child sexual abuse material.  

Winiecki was arrested on October 8, 2026. He is charged with nine 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 one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, third degree (§16-15-410), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years' imprisonment.

Stephens was arrested on October 7, 2026. He is charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, third degree (§16-15-410), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years' imprisonment.

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.