South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of William Lloyd Hepburn, 21, of Charleston, S.C., on seven charges connected to the sexual exploitation of a minor. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office made the arrest. Investigators with the Attorney General’s Office, Mount Pleasant Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), all also members of the state’s ICAC Task Force, assisted with the investigation.
Investigators received a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) which led them to Hepburn. Investigators state Hepburn distributed and possessed files of child pornography.
Hepburn was arrested on December 14, 2021. 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; and six 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.
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Vernon Ellis Birt, III, 33, of Charleston, S.C., on five charges connected to the sexual exploitation of minors. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Charleston Police Department made the arrest. Investigators with the Attorney General’s Office, Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, Mt. Pleasant Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), all also members of the state’s ICAC Task Force, assisted with the investigation.
Investigators received a CyberTipline report that led them to Birt. Investigators state Birt possessed files of child sexual abuse material.
Birt was arrested on December 8, 2021. 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.