On June 19, Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office will receive a $100,000 grant from the Attorney General Alliance to support mental health services for members of the office’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, as well as for child victims.

The funding will also be used to help child victims cope with trauma.

“Our ICAC team works tirelessly to investigate and prosecute the predators who exploit our children online. That means our people are constantly exposed to disturbing child sexual abuse material as they catalog the photos and videos as evidence and look for victims who might still be being abused,” Attorney General Wilson said in a press release. “Dealing with such traumatic content takes a toll on their mental and emotional health, so we’re grateful for this grant that will allow us to put several new mental health tools in place, which will also help us when we deal with victims.”

In February, the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office reported an increase in cyber tips related to crimes against children from 2023 to 2024.

More specifically, the office’s communications director, Robert Kittle, told the Chronicle that “business is booming,” with cyber tip numbers having gone from 9,778 in 2023 to 11,469 in 2024.

According to a February report from the Chronicle, The Lexington County Sheriff’s Office has two investigators who primarily work with ICAC, and they report that in 2023, they received 94 cyber tips and made 28 arrests; in 2024, they received 74 cyber tips and made 16 arrests; and in 2025 (through Feb. 5), they received 15 cyber tips and made five arrests.

Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General Camille Guthrie, who leads the ICAC section, said, “The South Carolina Attorney General’s ICAC section is very appreciative of the grant awarded by the AG Alliance. This will allow our agency to provide further for the mental health needs of our dedicated investigators and attorneys, while also helping us provide additional comfort and aid to the victims of the crimes we prosecute.”

Attorney General Wilson expressed hope that the added mental health support will benefit the officers and ultimately make a difference.