SC man allegedly used fear to get children across US to send him sexually explicit videos

Law enforcement officers in two South Carolina counties have charged eight men they say were involved in sexually exploiting children.

In Anderson, the Sheriff’s Office worked with Homeland Security over many months on a case in which a Westminster man is alleged to have blackmailed children across the country into giving him videos of a sexual nature.

In Oconee, the Sheriff’s Office, also working with Homeland Security, arrested seven men and charged them with sexual exploitation of a minor for distributing videos and photos.

The cases are not related, officials said.

Anderson Detective Adele Davis said in a Facebook video released Thursday that she was able to identify 17 victims in South Carolina and 10 other states — Arizona, California, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia.

All were younger than 12. There were thousands of images on the phone seized during the investigation, Davis said.

“We’re talking prepubescent children,” Davis said in the Facebook video. “This was somebody that we needed to hone in on and get off the street as soon as possible.”

The investigation began in March 2021 and an arrest was made in May 2021, citing one victim. Working with Homeland Security, Davis was able to identify 16 more victims. Those charges were brought in August, Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Shale Remien said.

She said some victims were coerced into sending videos and photos through the use of fear tactics.

Some victims could not be positively identified.

Sherman Alexander Turner, 28, of Williamston, faces federal child pornography charges. He is being held in Spartanburg County, jail records show.

In Oconee County, seven men were arrested over two days this week after the Sheriff’s Office received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The victims — all but one were girls — were 3 to 16 years old, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

“At this time, Investigators do not have any evidence that any of the Child Sexual Abuse Material was manufactured inside of Oconee County,” the release said. “The evidence seized indicated that the material was possessed by all seven suspects, and in some instances, was then distributed over the internet.

Arrested were Ernest Joseph McDonald, 23, Westminster; Thomas Gerald Allred, 45, Seneca; Terry Randall Belk Jr., 23, Seneca; Jon Joseph Carranza, 26, Seneca; Richard David Raffl; 74, Walhalla; William Douglas Minner, 59, Tamassee; and Robert Mann Hagan, 74, Seneca.