Child porn-related arrests spiked last year in Horry County, most in SC. Here’s why.
An investment into additional investigative resources led to a dramatic spike in the number of child porn-related arrests last year in Horry County.
South Carolina’s Internet Crimes Against Children task force, which operates out of the state Attorney General’s Office and is charged with overseeing child porn and underage solicitation investigations, recorded 23 arrests in 2019 in Horry County, according to records provided to The Sun News.
That figure, which led the state last year, is more than triple Horry County’s previous high of seven such arrests in a year, according to the task force’s database, which includes arrests dating back to 2004.
The only other previous year Horry County was among the top five counties in the state for ICAC-related arrests was 2008, when the six arrests was tied with Charleston County for the third most in the state, though three of those cases were dismissed.
The state task force partners on investigations with more than 100 local law enforcement agencies, including the Horry County Sheriff’s Office, which has its own dedicated unit to assist on those investigations.
HCSO Lt. Chip Squires, who supervises that unit, said they added a second investigator to that team last year, effectively doubling their investigative capabilities, in response to an increase in the amount of tips they were receiving. Conway Police Department also has an investigator dedicated to ICAC, he said.
Kevin Atkins, who serves as commander of the statewide task force, said he’s been awestruck since joining the unit in 2014 by how many agencies are increasingly dedicating their time and resources to investigating these serious crimes.
“You don’t get this kind of collaboration for petty crimes,” he said, noting a search warrant may involve his office, a local sheriff’s office, local police, Secret Service and Homeland Security. “It’s hard to get so many parties to put things to the side and focus on one unified task.”
The state task force’s arrest numbers have diminished during the coronavirus pandemic, but Atkins said investigators’ work has increased because more people are staying home. He noted the court closures have created a backlog, but investigators are continuing to follow leads, and he expects a spike in arrests once the courts reopen.
Atkins praised HCSO as a great model for what local agencies can accomplish when they make a commitment to fighting these serious crimes.
Squires said the sheriff’s office also turned its electronics crime task force into a full-time unit last year, which allows them to make arrests more quickly because they’re able to see files in real time while serving search warrants.
Chris Bomar, chief investigator for ICAC’s digital forensics team, said that dedication is key to expediting these cases, but Horry County is one of just a handful of counties in the state with digital forensics examiners, which has led to a lengthy backlog for his team.
Bomar and his team find and review all data on digital devices found during search warrants — a lengthy, time-consuming process that’s only worsened due to an increase in the number and storage capacity of digital devices — in an effort to prove the intent of a defendant and to potentially help identify and find child victims.
Helping victims
As the number of ICAC-related arrests has increased — up nearly 170 percent statewide during the past five years from 67 in 2014 to 180 last year — so has the number of children being treated for abuse.
The Children’s Recovery Center, a local nonprofit that advocates and provides services for children suspected of suffering abuse, has seen about a 95 percent increase in referrals during the past ten years in Horry and Georgetown counties, according to data provided by its executive director Louise Carson, who noted that about 65 percent of the kids they see suffered sexual abuse.
Dr. Carol Rahter, the center’s medical director, said part of the reason the issue has increased is that kids are being exposed to pornography at younger ages, which desensitizes them and makes them more vulnerable.
“When you see it all around you, you don’t think it’s a big deal,” Rahter said, specifically citing sexual ads that pop up while kids play video games such as Grand Theft Auto.
Dr. Melissa Muse, a counselor for Family Bridges Therapeutic Associates with offices in Myrtle Beach and Georgetown, said the issue has been getting progressively worse since smart phones with cameras were introduced.
Muse, whose clients are primarily child sex abuse victims, said kids are impulsive and usually more tech savvy than their parents, but it’s important for parents to closely monitor their children’s internet usage.
Education and prevention
On the prevention side, the SC Attorney General’s Office employs an education coordinator in conjunction with the ICAC task force to give presentations to schools and other groups throughout the state.
Emma Rush, who’s served in that position about six months, visited Myrtle Beach Middle School earlier this year to advise parents and students on safe internet usage guidelines.
Fewer than 10 parents showed up for the presentation, which Rush said is unfortunately common among schools she visits — “lots of parents think their child isn’t going to be doing these things, … it (can impact) everybody” — but she’s encouraged that she’s able to speak to many students.
Rush told the parents in attendance about different social media apps their children may be using, including Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Discord, Twitch, Reddit and TikTok.
“South Carolina has investigated (child porn or solicitation) cases involving every single one,” she said.
Rush noted that federal law restricts anyone under the age of 13 from having a social media profile, but students can easily lie about their age on these platforms, just as predators can.
She said lots of parents ask about monitoring software, which can be helpful, but the key is having honest, open paths of communication with their children.
“No amount of technology or monitoring software can replace being a parent,” Rush said.
This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 7:11 AM.
