Lady’s Island man arrested for sexual exploitation of a minor

BEAUFORT COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office is announcing the arrest of a 19-year-old who is charged with multiple counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.

Andrew Graves, 19, of Lady’s Island, is charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor 2nd degree and three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor 3rd degree.

The investigation started when deputies received leads from the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children initiative of child sexual abuse material being uploaded to social media from an unknown suspect on Lady’s Island.

Investigators then started to obtain warrants to search for the person responsible.

“Andrew Graves, 19, was identified as the subject responsible for uploading the imagery through preliminary examinations of the devices and interviews of people at the residence,” the sheriff’s office said.

Graves was not present when deputies were searching because he was at a summer camp. Agents with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division arrived at the camp to discover that Graves had already left.

Deputies say in the following weeks more of Graves’ electronic devices were seized, and a look at Graves’ emails revealed a large quantity of child sexual abuse imagery.

Warrants were obtained for Graves’ arrest and once his attorney learned of the warrants, Graves turned himself in.

His bond was set at $30,000, and he was released from the detention center on Thursday.

The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office will prosecute Graves for all criminal charges stemming from this investigation.

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