West Columbia man arrested on Child Sexual Abuse Material* charges

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Michael David Walla, 70, of West Columbia, S.C., on five charges connected to the sexual exploitation of minors. Investigators with the University of South Carolina Police Department made the arrest. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Attorney General's Office assisted with this investigation.

Investigators state Walla possessed files of child sexual abuse material.

Walla was arrested on August 14, 2025. He is charged with five 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.

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.