Upstate men arrested on Child Sexual Abuse Material* charges

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Reginald Eugene Lomax, 32, of Simpsonville, S.C., Machaon Caillou Burnhart, 20, of Anderson, S.C., and Joseph Michael Mannel, Sr., 45, of Anderson, S.C. on 17 total charges connected to the sexual exploitation of a minor. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Greenville County Sheriff's Office, Anderson County Sheriff's Office, and Anderson Police Department made the arrests in these unrelated cases. Investigators with the South Carolina Attorney General's Office, also a member 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 Lomax, Burnhart, and Mannel. Investigators state Lomax and Burnhart possessed files of child sexual abuse material, and Mannel distributed files of child sexual abuse material.  

Lomax was arrested on June 11, 2025. He is charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, third degree (§16-15-410), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count.

Burnhart was arrested on June 11, 2025. He is charged with 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, third degree (§16-15-410), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count.

Mannel was arrested on June 13, 2025. He is charged with four 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.

These cases 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.