James Island man arrested on 3 child exploitation charges

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - Charleston County detectives say on Wednesday a James Island man was arrested on charges after possessing multiple pieces of child sexual abuse material.

Timothy Joseph Brinson, 43, is charged with one count of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and two counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.

An affidavit states deputies started their investigation on Jan. 27 after receiving a tip from the South Carolina Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force about sexual exploitation of a minor.

On Jan. 6, a Microsoft user had distributed a picture that depicted a female child who was approximately four to six-years-old where she appeared to be performing a sex act on an adult male, an affidavit states.

Detectives say while conducting a search warrant at Brinson’s home, detectives found a cell phone where it had the same picture that was referred to in the received tip.

On the phone there were also pictures of Brinson that were linked to his social media accounts and pictures of his driver’s license, an affidavit states.

On May 8, detectives downloaded cell phones that were taken from Brinson’s home during a search warrant, detectives say.

The download of the cell phone showed multiple files of “visual representations” of a minor engaging in sexual activity or appearing in state of sexually explicit nudity, an affidavit states.

Detectives say the file had a picture of a female child between ten to twelve-years-old with her bare chest exposed.

Detectives also found another file that had a picture of a female child, between ages six to eight-years-old, where she is with two adult males, and performing a sex act on one and the other appearing to be sleeping next to the adult male, an affidavit states.

Brinson was being at Al Cannon Detention Center. His bond was set for $150,000.

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